What on earth is happening in our schools? Bullying appears to have reached epidemic proportions.
Children fall to their deaths from their third floor dormitories. Cadets in military colleges are tortured to death. In such instances, the enemy is not from an invading foreign army, but from within – one’s peers or perhaps, one’s senior.
A facebook friend sent me this link about the alleged poisoning of a teenage schoolgirl. The school, is in urban Klang, and not in a boarding school in possibly a rural setting like the one Zara Qairina Mahathir attended, in Sabah.
This is an excerpt from the original FMT link.
“The parents of a 17-year-old student who died after allegedly consuming poison at a school in Klang are demanding accountability, claiming the school failed to provide immediate medical care for her.
M Gopalan, 47, and P Magaswari, 45, allege that the school staff did not act swiftly during the May 27 incident, choosing to wait for an ambulance instead of transporting their daughter to the nearest clinic or hospital.”
Gopalan said that the closest clinic was a two-minute drive from the school, while Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital was about 15 minutes away.
This incident happened on 27 May – over two -and-a half-months ago.
Where is the official report by the Minister of Education, Fadhlina Sidek, about this death? Is she even aware?
Why is there NO public outcry about the alleged poisoning of this teenage student?
Why is it NOT widely reported?
Why was medical aid delayed? How long did the ambulance take to arrive? Why didn’t the school staff contact the parents for their permission to take their child to the nearest clinic?
More importantly, why had the teenager allegedly consumed poison?
It was reported that the incident happened when the student was in a classroom with three others during recess.
One of the students later told a teacher about the teenager collapsing and foaming at the mouth after allegedly consuming poison.
So, was the teenager forced to take the poison by a bully(ies)? Was it an accident? Or was it self administered?
Is there a police investigation because even if it was intentional, then trying to take one’s life, is a crime in Malaysia. So has an investigation being conducted? What does the Ministry of Education’s report say?
It was also reported that activist Arun Dorasamy claimed the case was initially classified as NFA before being reopened. Why was it classified as NFA?
Magaswari, the teenager’s mother said that she had been initially told by a student that her daughter had stomach ache. She said, “The student who called me said my child had a terrible stomach ache and kept asking for me. I rushed over thinking she had gastric pain.”
Gopalan has lodged two police reports.
- The first was against six school staff members for alleged gross negligence and evidence tampering.
- The second was against three students for allegedly pressuring his daughter to consume the poison.
Gopalan alleged that the school authorities had prevented witnesses and students from speaking about the incident.
We are aware that in Zara’s case, the principal, senior assistant of student affairs, and all wardens at the school where 13-year-old Zara attended were transferred out temporarily. They should have been suspended.
So, in this Klang teenager’s case, were any of the staff members temporarily suspended for alleged witness intimidation and evidence tampering?
This case needs to be highlighted because far too many cases of bullying is happening in our schools.
So, instead of children attending classes and learning about new things, sending one’s child to school, is every parents’ nightmare.
Photo credit FMT & original links
Leave a Comment