Bullying isn’t something that should be taken lightly, and some bullies learned their lesson today when the High Court ordered the nine parties involved to pay a whopping RM616,634 in damages to the victim they beat up four years ago.
The victim, a former student of Sultan Mahmud Science Secondary School (SESMA), who was 14 at the time, survived the incident but came away with a permanent hearing disability. The boy filed charges against the five bullies, who are now 21, through his father Ahmad Fauzi Abdullah on April 2, 2017. The plaintiff had filed a RM2 million claim for punitive and aggravated damages at the time.
The victim's parents filing a claim in 2017. (Photo: Utusan)
According to New Straits Times, the Kuala Terengganu High Court found nine parties guilty - the five former SESMA students, Senior Assistant Student Affairs, Sulaiman Ngarif former Principal of SESMA, Meriam Jusoh, the Director-General of the Ministry of Education Malaysia, and the Malaysian government. Judge Datuk Zainal Azman Abdul Aziz ordered these relevant parties to pay the finalised amount.
“The school was also seen as being negligent in the absence of control when the incident happened in the Chief Prefect’s dorm room. It (the act) did not take place on the side of a drain or a sidewalk. The warden's duty roster schedule was also very well organised, but it is useless if the trust placed is not carried out. It is better to resign (as a warden) and become a regular teacher, “ Zainal Azaman said in his judgement.
Having been beaten, kicked and slapped around, the injuries were severe, with the most damaging one physically being his damaged eardrum. The young victim will never be able to take part in water based activities for life. The trauma and emotional burden he had to endure also caused him to have to transfer schools.
The victim's mother, Rusaila Abdullah, on the right. (Photo: The New Straits Times)
The plaintiff’s mother, Rusaila Abdullah, 43, told NST, “Alhamdulillah, I am grateful, that everything is over. What we did was not for the money but in defence of our child who is still traumatised till today and has lost his hearing after being bullied”.
By: Celestine Foo
