Year 5 student forced to stand in the sun for nearly 3 hours last month left disabled
By Nurul Hidayah BahaudinMay 29, 2024 @ 10:05pm
A.D. Mogahana Selvi (second, right) and her husband B. Suresh (right); with Malaysia-Singapore Workers Task Force chairman S. Dayalan and lawyer Dinesh Muthal (second, left) speaking to the media. The couple’s son is now left disabled after suffering a heatstroke. NSTP/NURUL HIDAYAH BAHAUDIN
KUALA LUMPUR: 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, 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.
"To be honest, I feel upset when I see my child's condition as he is now not normal. Previously, he used to play often with his siblings, but now he hides a lot and talks to himself.
"The hospital informed me that I can't send my son to a regular school anymore because of his health issues. They say I have to send him to a school for special needs children now," she told reporters.
Present was her 40-year-old husband, B. Suresh, their lawyer Dinesh Muthal and Malaysia-Singapore Workers Task Force (Pemas) chairman S. Dayalan.
Meanwhile, Dinesh said he would file a civil suit on the family's behalf against all those involved in the case.
"This incident has caused a lot of stress to the victim's parents, especially Mogahana who is three months into a pregnancy. They now have to come to terms with the fact that their son will never lead a normal life.
"Apart from a civil suit, we want the teacher involved to be charged in court and be given an appropriate sentence (if found guilty)," he said.
Dayalan said the authorities' investigation into the matter and the action taken against the school were "unsatisfactory".
He also questioned the three warning letters allegedly sent by the school to the boy's parents over his absence from May 2 to 23.
"Yet, in that entire time, they have not discussed the issue of the boy being forced to stand in the sun with the parents," he said.
It was reported on Monday that the boy had to be rushed to hospital after being made to stand in the sun from 10am to 12.50pm.
Ampang Jaya police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Azam Ismail had said police had completed their prove and had handed the investigation papers to the deputy public prosecutor's office for further action.
