Pupil's death: Assistant warden still under suspension

An assistant warden of a religious school where the late Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gaddafi had studied is still under suspension from duty, pending completion of police investigations into the death of the 11-year-old student in April.

Madrasah Tahfiz Al Jauhar head, Mohammad Afdhaluddin Ismail, said the man had been suspended since April 21.

He said the school was not aware of the assistant warden's previous criminal records as the man was initially employed as a cleanliness supervisor there.

"During the nine months he was working with us, we did not detect any mistake and appointed him assistant warden to help the wardens at night," he told reporters at the school here today.

He said that for now, there was no necessity to fill the post.

Yesterday, Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah confirmed the death of the student on April 26 was linked to leptospirosis, and not from trauma or injury.

Mohammad Afdhaluddin said a health ministry team had gone to the school to check the physical and emotional state of the students and staff there, as well as observe its environment.

"Some of the students were told to take the health checks but none had any problem," he said, adding that the school had also improved its student intake procedure by making it compulsory for new students to undergo health checks before registering.

Based on the ministry's report, there were cases of abuse in the school, which was congruous with the explanation given by the school based on closed-circuit television (CCTV) recordings.

To date, 16 new CCTVs were installed at the premises, bringing the total number to 40, to monitor the students and staff.

The religious school was set up on June 6, 2011 and currently has 105 students and 13 staff.

-- BERNAMA