Mum In Melaka Lodges Police Report Against A Headmistress For Caning Her Daughter
The girl is now too traumatised to go to school.
By Sadho Ram — 05 Jul 2017, 01:19 PM
A 38-year-old housewife has lodged a police report yesterday, 4 July, against the headmistress of a vernacular school in Alor Gajah
According to a report by The Star Online today, 5 July, the mother claims that the headmistress had caned her eight-year-old daughter so violently that the little girl was "bleeding profusely when she returned from school".
The incident happened on 22 June
However, the mother only lodged the report yesterday after she sought an explanation from the school but was told to return on 3 July after the Hari Raya school holidays, reported Free Malaysia Today (FMT).
"I was told to come back after Hari Raya break on 3 July to meet her again, but was treated impolitely by the headmistress," FMT reported the mother as saying.
According to the report in the FMT, the mother claims that when she went to meet the headmistress, she was not only rude to her, she even told her to "take whatever further action she wished"
"I was told that the caning was warranted as my daughter failed to pass up her homework and that is why I made the police report on 4 July 4," FMT reported the mother as saying, who added that her daughter, who has been too traumatised by the caning, is now scared to go to school after the Raya break.
Meanwhile, The Star Online reported that several people have approached the mother asking her to withdraw the report. They have even offered to pay for her daughter's medical expenses.
However, the mother has refused, saying, "I am a housewife and my husband is an odd-job labourer but we have dignity and can't be bought with money."
Alor Gajah OCPD Supt A. Asmadi Abd Aziz was reported saying that an investigation has been initiated under Section 324 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means
The Star Online quoted Aziz saying that the Alor Gajah police will pass the investigation papers to the deputy public prosecutor for the next course of action.
Meanwhile, this was not the first case involving the headmistress
Md Yunos Husin, the chairman of State education, higher learning, science and green technology committee, was quoted by the English daily as saying that the state Education Department would be lodging a report against the headmistress as well.
The Education Ministry has set up guidelines for caning
Students cannot be caned in public, whether it's during assemblies or during classes.
Reason being, "such action would humiliate the student and would have even worse effects on his personal development," Education Ministry has noted in a circular last year.
Additionally, while male students can be caned, it is the only corporal punishment which is absolutely prohibited on female students.