Student accused of stealing teacher's iPhone passes away

The teenager who attempted suicide after she was accused of stealing her teacher's iPhone last week died this morning at 3.30am.

NGO Malaysian Tamilar Kural secretary, Satees Muniandy, who broke the news to the media, said her family members were attending to her body at the mortuary.

"They are too distraught to speak now," Satees told Malaysiakini.

The NGO's president David Marshel (centre in photo) was with the student’s relatives at the hospital's forensic department to wait for the post-mortem result.

The 13-year-old student was in a coma at the Seberang Jaya Hospital since Jan 24 after she was found in her room hanging with a shawl tied around her neck.

Her doctor had then told the family that their child suffered from brain injury.

Her uncle, Manogaran Retom, who lodged a police report against the teacher for the girl's suicide attempt, claimed the Form One student was allegedly locked in a room at the school by the teacher and demanded that she confessed.

Manogaran also alleged that the teacher and her husband, who is also a teacher, then took the student in their car to her house.

The student was again accused of stealing the mobile phone in front of her parents.

At about 8.20pm that night, the girl who hailed from Nibong Tebal penned a note before attempting to hang herself with a shawl but was discovered by her father.

The note, among others, said, “Teacher, I never took your phone.”

The school's Teacher-Parent Association president Teoh Seang Hooi has vowed to seek justice for the student but urged all parties to allow the police to probe the case thoroughly.

Education deputy minister P Kamalanathan said the ministry was probing the case and revealed that the teacher had since been transferred to the district education office.- Mkini