Ain Husniza and father say ex-teacher made lewd jokes with malice, was oppressive during lesson in counterclaim

PETALING JAYA: Student Ain Husniza Saiful Nizam and her father have a filed a counterclaim against her former teacher’s defamation suit over the “rape joke” incident.

“I can confirm we filed the defence and counterclaim on March 4," her lawyer Datuk Sankara Nair of SN Nair & Partners told The Star Friday (March 11).

The statement of defence sighted by The Star revealed that Ain Husniza, whose full name is Nurain Husniza, 17, had suffered emotional distress and nervous shock as a result of the "rape joke" incident.

“As a result of the sexual joke which is deeply oppressive and psychologically damaging, the first plaintiff has suffered emotional distress and/or serious nervous shock,” the statement read.

“Not only have the first plaintiff’s legal rights for her personal safety been violently breached, she also suffered from extreme fright, sadness, humiliation, anxiety and constant threat of violence and personal injuries,” it added.

The counterclaim named her former teacher at SMK Puncak Alam Khairul Nizam Sanuddin, school principal Sarimah Mohammed Nor, Selangor Education director Anismah M Noh, Education Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Jidin and the Malaysian government as defendants.

Ain Husniza and her father Saiful Nizam Abdul Wahab as the first and second plaintiffs claimed that the teacher not only made the lewd jokes with malice but also made unreasonable verbal harassment, adding that he was oppressive throughout the lesson.

They added that the teacher’s action was “calculated to cause” anxiety, fear and stress in Ain Husniza.

“The... first defendant’s act specifically makes the plaintiff a victim of sexual harassment who has to be protected and this must be prevented right away,” they said.

They added that the action was in violation of the Sexual Offences against Children Act 2017, among others.

They are also seeking aggravated and exemplary damages including for Ain Husniza's medical bills amounting to RM955 among other compensations, and a 5% annual interest on the damages which will be decided until the settlement.

Both the teacher’s suit and the family’s suit will be heard at the Klang Sessions Court on March 21.

On Nov 30, it was reported that Khairul Nizam filed a defamation suit naming Ain Husniza and her father as the first and second respondents respectively.

In August, Ain Husniza shared that she received a letter of demand from a physical education teacher at the school where she previously studied, seeking damages of RM1mil for alleged defamatory remarks she made.

In April, Ain Husniza made headlines when she made a TikTok video calling out the teacher over the alleged rape joke incident.