The family of the 13-year-old school girl who attempted suicide after she was accused of stealing her teacher's iPhone has lodged a police report urging the police to probe the matter urgently.
The girl's aunt Vinothini Kalaivanan said her husband Manogaran Retom lodged the report urging the police to act on the teacher.
The report was lodged at the Seberang Perai Tengah police headquarters at 6.18pm yesterday. It was received by L/Kpl Mohd Nazuraidi Mohamed.
Vinothini said her niece is "still in critical condition in the ICU".
"Doctor says she cannot come out of the hospital yet. We are very worried for her life. Her parents are too sad to deal with this," she told Malaysiakini.
"We tried to meet the teacher involved but she is not at home. The NGO Malaysian Tamilar Kural is helping us contact the school. Vasantha is innocent and we hope action will be taken against the teacher."
The student, who hails from Nibong Tebal, Penang, had denied stealing her teacher's mobile phone.
The police report stated that despite her repeated denial, the Form One student was allegedly locked in a room by the teacher, who demanded her to confess.
In his report, Manogaran alleged that the teacher and her husband, who is also a teacher, then took the student in their car to her house.
He claimed that his niece was not allowed to eat during detention, while her friends were also questioned by the teacher, and all of them defended her by saying she did not steal the phone.
"The teacher threatened to take my niece and friends to the police station," said Manogaran.
The student was later accused of stealing the mobile phone, in front of her parents.
At about 8.20pm that night, the niece penned a note before attempting to hang herself with a shawl but was discovered by her father.
"Her father and brothers managed to cut the shawl and released her. I then rushed her to the hospital," Manogaran added.
Her family also found a note (photo) in the room written by the student which states, “Nobody is responsible for my death. I want to thank my lovely parents for taking care of me. I am so sorry. Teacher, I never took your phone. I promise."
The school's teacher-parents association president Teoh Seang Hooi said they are taking a very serious view of this incident.
"We will make sure justice is done for the girl.
"Nevertheless, we hope every party will allow the police to carry out their investigations fairly without any political intervention," he said.
"We believe the Education Department will also conduct an investigation accordingly.
"I urge all parties to let these investigations be carried out without fear or favour so that justice will be ensured for the victim," said Teoh, a former Seberang Perai Municipal councillor.
Malaysian Tamilar Kural secretary Satees Muniandy urged people to pray for her speedy recovery.
He said her parents are too weak to face this and are devastated by their daughter's condition.
"The family is devastated by the incident; and there are attempts to shift the blame to the girl and the father, when it is the teacher who caused this," said Satees, who is also DAP Batu Kawan secretary.
He said Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy has met the student's family and vowed to seek justice for their daughter.
The NGO is a human rights organisation which operates in eight states - Penang, Johor, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Perak, KL, Selangor, and Pahang.
"We are providing legal assistance and also morally supporting the family at the moment and we will ensure the girl gets justice," Satees said.
Representatives from the school have declined to comment- Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.