A year on, father of teen who committed suicide seeks justice

A year has passed since M Vasantha Piriya, 13, committed suicide after she was allegedly accused of stealing a teacher's mobile phone.

Her father, R Muniandy, 54, is still looking for closure.

Despite a month-long inquest into her death last July, he said there is still no justice for Vasantha Piriya.

Muniandy also lamented how he was not called to testify at the inquest.

"I was on the witness list, and already on the way to testify, but I received a call from the court while on the Penang bridge that I did not have to be a witness," he recalled.

"What we heard in the inquest is whether my daughter took the phone, but there was nothing about the teacher (allegedly) detaining her for five hours before sending her home. She died that night," he told reporters in Nibong Tebal.

According to Vasantha Piriya's alleged suicide note, she had denied stealing the mobile phone. The teenager also said that she loved her teacher. 

Accompanying Muniandy was Bagan Dalam assemblyperson Satees Muniandy and Seberang Perai Municipal councillor David Marshel.

Satees said the family is contemplating legal action against the teacher for allegedly confining Vasantha Piriya without her parents' consent.

The DAP representative said the inquest also did not look into a police report lodged by the teenager's uncle, who accused the teacher and her husband of harassing Vasantha Piriya.

"They (allegedly) took her from school without permission and detained her illegally. These issues were not discussed in the inquest. Was she mentally tortured by them?” he asked.

Meanwhile, Marshel asked if the Education Ministry had taken action against the teacher.

"The inquest was not relevant at all. They had 22 witnesses, teachers were called to the stand, but not the parents. Even the lawyer could not question anyone.

"The media also focused on the teacher's statement, but did not question her on why she (allegedly) detained the student for five hours,” he added.

It is learnt that after the incident, the state education department had transferred the teacher out of the school. - Mkini