KUALA LUMPUR: One of the witnesses in the case of the Year 5 pupil who was left disabled when he suffered a heatstroke after being punished by a teacher has been threatened.
The lawyer representing the boy's family, Dinesh Muthal, claimed the victim's classmate was questioned about his decision to take part in the case investigation.
He said this should not have happened as witnesses must be protected and not threatened.
"There are elements of witness tampering, and we need to understand one thing: the teacher who committed the crime is still teaching, and the witness is still at the same school. This is not normal, and he threatened the witness.
"The witness was threatened with 'this is not your job, your job is to study, don't get involved (in the investigation)'.
"The witness was in the area where the 'crime' occurred, as this can be considered abuse. We are talking about a crime here," he told a press conference.
Dinesh said the teachers in the case called out and confronted the witness during a closed meeting between the school administration and the victim's family.
"We have to understand the teacher is actually threatening the witness in front of the investigating officer and the victim's mother.
"A witness facing the suspect should only happen in court. There is a clear law stating how child witnesses should be protected.
"You expose the kids who will be witnesses in front of the suspect. Any 11-year-old child would be scared," he said.
Dinesh also added that the Year 5 pupil has been a target of bullying at school and has faced several instances of bullying before.
He said the victim had previously been subjected to hot water being thrown on him, and the school administration did not provide any first aid except for sending him to the guardhouse to wait for his parents to take him home.
It was previously reported that a Year 5 pupil who suffered a heatstroke after being forced by a teacher to stand in the sun for nearly three hours on April 30 is now considered a person with disabilities (PwD).
The boy's 35-year-old mother, A.D. Mogahana Selvi, had said the Ampang Hospital had already given the family a reference letter for her son to be assessed as a PwD due to the health issues with which he has been left.
It is understood the 11-year-old now has a nerve condition as a result of the heatstroke he suffered.
Meanwhile, the boy's family is demanding that the current investigating officer in the case be changed to one who holds the rank of inspector, at least.
Malaysia-Singapore Workers Task Force (Pemas) chairman S. Dayalan, who is the spokesman for the child's family, alleged that the investigation seemed now to be focused on proving that the victim was already classified as a PwD.
He said the police investigation should be directed towards the violation of a circulation letter from the Education Ministry that outlines the procedures for imposing action and punishment on students.
"On May 30, the victim's parents received a call from the investigating officer to give a statement, and we are unclear why, if the investigation is complete, the victim's parents are still being called.
"I am also informed that the statements taken were not based on the initial report from April 30 but instead focused on the PwD status, trying to determine who informed them that their child is a PwD.
"They attended with their lawyer to give a statement, and surprisingly, the officer was gathering data on the victim from years 1-5."
He said the family felt stressed and disappointed because no action had been taken against the teacher since the police report was made on April 30.
Dayalan said they submitted a complaint memorandum to the Education Ministry and the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) today, urging for immediate action.
"For your information, we will also be sending a memorandum to Bukit Aman tomorrow, and we urge that an experienced investigating officer, ideally with the rank of inspector, be assigned to conduct this investigation."
