Girl, 12, misses four months of school after chair-pulling incident, says mother

PADANG BESAR, June 12 — A 12-year-old girl has allegedly been unable to attend school for nearly four months after sustaining injuries in a fall when the chair she was about to sit on was allegedly pulled away by a classmate during a lesson in February.

Her mother, Norasikin Hasin, 32, claimed that the Year Six pupil suffered a soft tissue injury to her lower back and was subsequently diagnosed with functional neurological disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the incident on Feb 11.

She said the incident occurred during a teaching and learning session when her daughter attempted to sit down after greeting a teacher, but fell to the floor after her chair was allegedly pulled away by a female classmate.

“My daughter began complaining of back pain after returning home from her hostel on Feb 13 for the school holidays in conjunction with Ramadan, and I only learned about the incident when I took her to Tuanku Fauziah Hospital in Kangar for treatment

“Since then, my daughter has been admitted to hospital several times due to persistent pain and numbness,” she told reporters at her home in Chuping, near here.

Norasikin said her daughter remains on medical leave and is unable to move about actively as she used to, beside not able to stand or sit for prolonged periods and that her studies have also been affected.

She said the girl’s emotional condition had also deteriorated, as she was frequently observed to be staring into space, crying suddenly and speaking incoherently at times, as well as expressing her feelings through writings and drawings in a notebook, which she described as resembling a personal diary.

“Through the entries, my daughter shared many of her feelings, including that some friends no longer wanted to befriend her and had asked her to complete their schoolwork.

“What saddened me most was a drawing depicting an individual standing at the edge of a high cliff facing the moon, which appeared to reflect the emotional distress she has been experiencing,” she said.

She also expressed her hope that the relevant authorities would help secure justice for her daughter, whom she described as a pupil with strong academic potential.

Meanwhile, Padang Besar district police chief ACP Mohd Shokri Abdullah confirmed that police had received a report regarding the incident, which had been referred to the Deputy Public Prosecutor’s Office after being investigated under Section 323 of the Penal Code. — Bernama