Teacher sues MOE

[Ma Chao]

Oct 25, 2010
Teacher sues MOE

By Khushwant Singh

Meeting on school's SOPs

Cross-examined by State Counsel Peter Koy of the Attorney-General's Chambers, which is representing MOE, Madam Sivakami said that she was unsure if she had attended a briefing on the school's standard operating procedures in December 2005.

At that meeting, teachers were told the school would be locked at 12.30pm on Saturdays and anyone wishing to stay longer should inform the school's operations manager.

Mr Koy said that attendance at this meeting was compulsory and those unable to attend had to seek permission from the principal or vice-principal. There was no indication that Madam Sivakami did so although she reported for work that day.

Madam Sivakami is represented by Mr Perumal Athitham.
The hearing is scheduled for five days.

Madam Sivakami Sivanantham who injured her ankle while trying to get out of the school, is suing the Ministry of Education (MOE) for negligence and for not ensuring a safe working environment. -- ST PHOTO: SSAMUEL HE

A TEACHER, who was accidentally locked in a school on a Saturday afternoon and injured herself trying to get out, is suing the Ministry of Education (MOE) for negligence and for not ensuring a safe working environment. Madam Sivakami Sivanantham, 39, also contends that MOE has caused her to suffer wrongful or false imprisonment.

At the start of the hearing on Monday, the teacher at Zhangde Primary School testified that the school moved to its new premises in Tiong Bahru in 2005. On Feb 11, 2006, she went on a Saturday to do some work and prepare her classroom for the following week. Leaving her handbag in the teachers' staff room on the second storey, she was in the classroom till 12.30 pm.

She then found that the roller shutters to the staff room and the ground floor exits of the staircases all locked. Her mobile phone was in her handbag so she tried shouting for help but to no avail. In a 'state of frenzy', she climbed out a ventilation gap at a staircase and jumped down some 3.7 metres. She injured her right ankle and had to hospitalised and awarded medical leave for more than a year.

 

[Ma Chao]

SOP for locking up classrooms


Oct 27, 2010
SOP for locking up classrooms

By Khushwant Singh

THE school attendants at Zhangde Primary School had to check if all classrooms have been locked before pulling down the roller shutters at the ground floor of the school at the end of each day. Testifying in the High Court on Wednesday, the school principal Jaswant Kaur confirmed that this was one of the duties of the attendants even on Saturdays.

However, on Feb 11, 2006, Ms Sivakami Sivanantham, 39, was locked in the school on the afternoon of Feb 11, 2006. Afraid that she would be unable to get home for the weekend, the 39-year-old teacher climbed out of a ventilation gap. She then fell some 4m at the rear of the building and fractured her ankle. Warded for seven days in the National University Hospital, complications necessitated seven operations to set her ankle, She went on medical lave for more than a year.

The teacher of 15 years is now suing the Ministry of Education for negligence in not ensuring a safe work environment, resulting in her being locked in against her will. The defendant's psychiatrist, Dr Todd Tomita of the Institute of Mental Health, said the teacher was not suffering from any psychiatric condition at the time of the incident. He said she might have climbed out because of her anxiety. The hearing continues.

 

[Ma Chao]

No instructions on lock-in


Oct 28, 2010
No instructions on lock-in

By Khushwant Singh

SINCE he had been an infantry officer for 20 years, Mr Choo Kwok Seng told the High Court that the half-day safety training he received from the Ministry of Education was more than sufficient to prepare him to manage the safety matters at Zhangde Primary School. However, he told the High Court that he did not include instructions on what a teacher should do if locked in the school building in his safety measures.

Justice Belinda Ang asked: 'You were also the school's safety officer yet you failed to anticipate this happening.' 'Yes,' he replied softly. On Thursday, Mr Choo, the school's operations manager, was the fourth witness to take the stand in the hearing of the case brought by teacher Sivakami Sivanantham, who is suing the Ministry of Education for negligence in not ensuring a safe workplace for her.

Locked inside the school on the afternoon of Feb 11, 2006 and afraid she would be unable to get out until Monday, Ms Sivakami climbed out through a ventilation gap. She fell about 4m and hurt herself. She was warded for seven days at Singapore General Hospital. Complications necessitated seven operations and she was on medical leave for more than a year. Her lawyers are claiming that the school lacked adequate safety procedures.

 

[R y u]

Teacher settles case with MOE
By Leong Wee Keat | Posted: 01 February 2011 1839 hrs
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SINGAPORE: A primary school teacher who sued the Education Ministry (MOE) for damages and claimed it had been negligent in ensuring she had a safe working environment has settled her case.

Lawyers acting for 39-year-old Sivakami Sivanantham and the Ministry appeared before High Court Judge Belinda Ang in a closed-door hearing on Monday, where they agreed to enter into an interim judgement.

Channel NewsAsia understands expenses arising from the incident have been apportioned between the two parties.

Sivakami had sued MOE for damages after she hurt herself from a fall in Zhangde Primary School.

She had found herself locked inside the school one Saturday morning in February 2006.

Sivakami panicked and attempted to get out by climbing through a ventilation opening.

She was left hanging by her hands close to four metres above ground.

She eventually let go, fell and fractured her ankle.

Sivakami was hospitalised for a week at the Singapore General Hospital and was on medical leave for more than a year.

During the five-day long hearing last October, the High Court heard Sivakami still suffers from psychological distress.

While psychiatrist Ung Eng Khean anticipates her condition will improve, he felt that Sivakami would remain vulnerable to a relapse if faced with another crisis.

The school's principal, operations manager and other school staff had testified on the school's operating procedures.

Channel NewsAsia understands that Sivakami still teaches at Zhangde Primary.

-CNA/wk