Ain, parents file fresh suit against govt, minister and 3 others

 

Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam had last year alleged that her teacher made ‘rape jokes’.

PETALING JAYA: Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam and her parents have filed a new lawsuit against the government and education minister Radzi Jidin for breach of internal rules and circulars.

The trio has also named three others as defendants: SMK Puncak Alam teacher Khairul Nizam Sanuddin, the school’s former headmistress Sarimah Mohammed Nor and Selangor education director Anismah M Noh.

In the new suit filed earlier this month, Ain and her parents also accuse the five defendants of infringing their rights under the Federal Constitution and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989.

Ain had last year alleged that Khairul, then her physical fitness and health education teacher, made jokes about rape which she claimed encouraged his students to commit the crime.

Khairul then sued Ain and her father for allegedly making defamatory remarks about him on social media and through press interviews.

The duo subsequently filed a counter suit against Khairul and the government for emotional distress caused by the rape jokes, and in the aftermath.

The others named in the suit were Sarimah, Anismah, Radzi and the government.

Sankara Nair, the lawyer representing Ain and her parents, said it was a shame that the education ministry did not have a system in place to protect students, especially female students, against abuse and breach of laws.

“I call on the government to address this in order to protect many more Ains who may be silent victims of harassment in our schools and in our society,” he told FMT today.

Ain and her parents are also suing Khairul and/or Sarimah for negligent infliction, intentional or reckless infliction of emotional distress and/or nervous shock.

In addition, the trio is suing Khairul for sexual harassment, criminal misconduct and negligence.

Ain and her parents are seeking an order for Radzi to suspend Khairul as well as for the government to instruct the Public Complaints Bureau to order the relevant agencies to investigate Khairul and/or Sarimah for their conduct.

They are also seeking aggravated, exemplary, compensatory, general and special damages. - FMT