Some Malaysians still believe in physical punishment. But, it seems a teacher in Penang went too far when they caned a student until he almost went blind.
The incident reportedly took place in a school in Sungai Ara, Penang yesterday (14th September) afternoon. Apparently, the 17-year-old student had been caught vaping in school. Unfortunately, his punishment got out of hand when it ended with his eye being bruised and swollen, leaving him almost blind.
According to his father Mazni Mohamad, his son had been caught vaping in Science class while his teacher was teaching, around 12.30pm. “My son was then brought to an ustaz (religious teacher), who is allegedly the discipline teacher’s helper, for further action,” he told Malaysia Gazette. “He was questioned before the discipline teacher claimed he was lying and proceeded to cane him.”
The teacher had apparently not been careful during the caning as the cane allegedly caught a part of the student’s right eye. Apparently the child had felt pain in his eye before discovering it was bleeding when his hand came away bloody. Luckily, the teacher realised the child was hurt and school authorities then brought him to a clinic, then a hospital for treatment.
Mazni Mohamad added that they had referred him to the Penang General Hospital afterwards as they needed an eye specialist. “For now, my son is in a stable condition, but he needs to be monitored for five days before the doctor can treat him further,” he stated. Additionally, they are planning to report the incident to the police, and will be meeting with the school authorities today (15th September).
Most netizens agreed the parents needed to escalate the matter to the police, with a few advising them to sue. Some also questioned why the teacher had targeted the boy’s eye. “Is there no other place to cane (the child)?” one asked. Another opined: “There are ways to cane and places to cane. If you (hit) the child’s eye, that is already considered a heavy crime.”
However, a few questioned the legitimacy of the story. “This is the type of parent (who), when someone claims their child is stubborn or a school thug, will reply, “My child is good, don’t make up stories about them,” one scoffed. But netizens were quick to defend the father, with a few vouching for his strict personality while others opined they may not know the full story. One even commented: “Teachers now are so fierce…”
“I know my son is (a naughty child) but this is not the way to teach him a lesson,” Mazni Mohamad berated. “It’s a good thing he’s not blind.” We have to agree with Mazni that while children do need discipline, hurting them is not the way to go. We sincerely hope his child will recover soon and that such a situation will not happen again.
Sources: China Press, Malaysia Gazette, Facebook
