REPORT FILED: (From left) Helexson, Jasthasha and Michelle at the police station.
SIBU: Three Primary 6 pupils of a school here have filed a police report alleging that their headmaster caned and scolded them for refusing to stay in the hostel.
Embark Tani said his daughter Michelle Menti Embark, his niece Jasthasha Jemat and nephew Helexson Mani Abo returned to the longhouse from school on Monday with bruises on their buttocks, arms and hands.
The 52-year-old from Rumah Jackson Allu in Bawang Assan said the trio told his wife that they had been caned because they disobeyed the headmaster’s instructions.
“It is not the first time that the headmaster caned and scolded them for the same reason. But the kids just kept quiet all this while,” he said after they filed a police report on Monday evening.
He had earlier brought the pupils to the Bawang Assan health clinic for a medical check-up.
Embark said he could understand if the headmaster had instructed the pupils to stay at the school’s hostel in preparation for the Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah (UPSR).
However, he said the headmaster should not have forced them to stay.
“My daughter has tried to stay at the hostel before. She stayed there but returned home after about one week. I know that they do not want to stay at the hostel because of its less than satisfying conditions,” he said.
Although they did not stay at the hostel, he said the trio never missed extra classes.
He added that their longhouse is just a 10-minute walk from the school.
“Why not let other students from faraway places stay at the hostel?” he questioned.