A FORMER primary school teacher has been ordered to pay RM85,000 in damages to an ex-pupil for hitting him on his head with a broom in 2019, reported Kosmo! Online.
In allowing the boy's appeal against the Selayang Sessions Court's decision to dismiss the suit, Shah Alam High Court judicial commissioner Datuk Hazizah Kassim said 'the incident should not have occurred in school'.
The boy who was in Year 2 at the time needed five stitches after the incident.
The boy, as the plaintiff, had filed the suit through his father, Mohd Amirul Azdi Md Yusuf, against the teacher aged 60 as the first defendant.
He named the school's headmaster and the government as the second and third defendants.
"This court feels the act of the defendant in using the broom to instil fear in pupils to follow instructions is deemed as not welcomed in this era.
"This incident is highly regrettable. I hope this will serve as a lesson and will not recur," Hazizah said in her judgment
She set aside the Sessions Court's decision and ordered the ex-teacher to pay RM15,000 in general damages, RM70,000 in exemplary damages and RM5,000 in appeal costs.
However, she ruled that the second and third defendants were not liable for the ex-teacher's actions.
The boy was represented by lawyers Azmer Md Saad and Nur Zalikha Moor Kashfi.
Lawyers Ruslan Hassan and Mohd Zali Shaari stood for the ex-teacher while senior federal counsel Nur Aifaa Che Abdullah acted for the headmaster and the government. - October 11, 2024
