KUCHING: Police are continuing to obtain and verify information on the alleged attack on a teacher by a student at a private school here.
The state police said investigators are working hard to ensure the information is accurate.
“The investigation is ongoing and various measures are being taken,” it said yesterday.
On Wednesday, Sarawak acting police commissioner Deputy Comm Saifullizan Ishak confirmed that police are investigating the 16-year-old student for allegedly injuring the teacher with an axe and carrying firecrackers.
The case is being investigated under Section 324 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon and Section 6(1) of the Explosives Act.
State Women, Early Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah called for accountability and compassion in addressing the incident.
“While harmful behaviour must be addressed, we must not be quick to condemn, label or shame a young person without understanding the circumstances surrounding the incident.
“Accountability and compassion are not mutually exclusive.
“We can uphold the safety of teachers and students while ensuring that the adolescent is treated with dignity and receives appropriate guidance and support,” she said in a statement.
Fatimah said she was particularly concerned by words reportedly shared by the student on Facebook expressing loneliness and isolation, adding they should not be dismissed.
“Every child deserves to feel valued, heard and supported. When a young person says, ‘I have no one,’ our response should be to help them access the support they need, not to deepen their sense of isolation.”
She also urged the public not to share videos of the incident on social media as this could violate the teenager’s rights and expose those involved to online harassment and further distress.
Fatimah said social media must not become a platform for public shaming or trial by public opinion.
Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii also urged the public to stop sharing videos of the incident, saying research on school violence overseas showed that widely publicised attacks were often imitated in a “copycat” effect.
He said the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission should take a more proactive approach and work with online platforms to detect and immediately block reuploads of such footage.
He also called on online news portals and social media page owners to be responsible instead of chasing clicks.
