Police probing alleged abuse of student by teacher; Education Dept says it’s a case of extreme punishment

KUCHING: The police have confirmed they are probing the alleged abuse of a student by a school teacher after a police report was lodged.

State CID chief Datuk Dev Kumar, who confirmed a report was made by a parent of the student, said police are still in the process of investigating what had transpired.

“We have yet to classify the incident as an abuse case as further investigations are ongoing,” said Dev Kumar when contacted yesterday.

Meanwhile, State Education Department director Rakayah Madon also confirmed that the department had received a report on the incident, and affirmed that disciplinary action will be taken against the teacher responsible if found guilty.

According to her, the case was not abuse but an extreme method used by the teacher to discipline students.

“A student’s family has lodged a police report over the incident and we are waiting for the full report of the incident,” she said.

The alleged incident happened last Tuesday when two Form 4 students of a religious school here were disciplined for failing to complete their homework.

The punishment meted out by the teacher was said to involve the pair doing sit-ups and squats, allegedly from 11.30am until 12.20pm that day.

Following the incident, a parent of one of the students lodged a police report at the Gita police station last Friday after the student was admitted to Sarawak General Hospital after suffering torn thigh muscles, believed to have been caused by severe muscle stress resulting from the punishment.