'Bell' punishment case referred to District Education office

The mothers of two Year Four pupils in a primary school here are upset over the way a male teacher allegedly punished their sons for not completing their homework, last Thursday.

They claimed that the boys were made to wear bells around their necks, forced to eat grass and called 'lembu' (cow).

Yarnis Kasuma Dewi Zainal Aripin, 32, who lodged a police report on the matter, said she was told by her son's friend that the teacher, 26, also took pictures of them with the bells on and threatened to post it on Face book.

She told reporters at Taman Permai here Saturday that she was very sad, disappointed and upset by the incident and claimed her son appeared frightened to go to school since then.

The other mother Siti Aisyah Hashim, 32, said the parties involved had met at the Sungkai police station yesterday evening to resolve the issue.

She said the teacher had apologised and left the station immediately. She claimed however that his apology appeared insincere.

Meanwhile, one of the boys said they were not made to eat grass but warned to keep the bells on until 1.30 pm or risk being caned 10 times.

Tapah police chief Supt Som Sak Din Keliaw confirmed receiving the report from Yarnis and having the meeting as well.

"We had the meeting with both parties and the boys too. The school's headmaster and Batang Padang District Education officer were also here. The teacher admitted to punishing the boys but denied making them eat grass," he said in a statement here Saturday.

Som Sak said investigations found that the teacher had punished the pupils for not doing their English homework for the past two weeks despite having potential in the subject.

"The teacher admitted his action and apologised. Both parties agreed to settle the matter amicably and the mother has left the matter to the District Education Office for further action," he said.