A primary school pupil claimed that his teacher beat him up and then gave him RM2 to keep quiet

Pupil: Teacher beat me up for being late to school

THE STAR

KEPALA BATAS: A primary school pupil claimed that his teacher beat him up and then gave him RM2 to keep quiet about it.

Year Six student Khairul Najwan Jamsari, 12, said he was choked, punched and stomped on because he was late to school and had used a bicycle with a modified handlebar.

He said he was a few minutes late to his school in Tikam Batu near Sungai Petani on Wednesday morning and was caught by the teacher, a student affairs senior assistant.

“The teacher told me my bicycle’s modified handlebar was against school regulations. He then grabbed me by the neck, punched me and stomped on my legs after I fell,” Khairul Najwan told a press conference organised by social activist Nor Hasni Saad yesterday.

“A few teachers who saw it gave me some food and advised me to say sorry to that teacher.

“After I apologised, he handed me two RM1 notes and told me to keep quiet about the incident,” he said, adding that he related the incident to his mother.

Jamsari Mohammad Hassan, a 46-year-old electrician, said his son’s neck was bruised, his face was swollen and his right leg and left knee bruised too.

“I was in Kuala Lumpur when my wife told me about this. I called up the school’s office to seek clarification but could not get a reasonable answer. Then I contacted the senior assistant and he said my son was beaten because he rode a bicycle with a modified handlebar to school,” said Jamsari.

He said Khairul Najwan’s bike handlebar had broken and after being welded back, it had become lower than the original.

He said he became furious after the teacher told him it was his right to physically punish pupils.

Jamsari said he had lodged a report at the Kuala Muda district police headquarters in Sungai Petani and also took Khairul Najwan for medical treatment.

He said his son was now afraid to go to school and urged the state Education Department to look into the matter.

Kuala Muda district police chief Asst Comm Md Zukir Md Isa said the case was being investigated under Section 323 of the Penal Code.