Seri Pristana school in the spotlight again, parent arrested

Seri Pristana school in the spotlight again, parent arrested

BY ELIZABETH ZACHARIAH
August 26, 2013
Malaysian Insider
Latest Update: August 27, 2013 07:48 am
Trouble is brewing again at controversy-ridden SK Seri Pristana (pic) in Sungai Buloh.
Today, police arrested a parent for allegedly threatening school principal Mohd Nasir Mohd Noor, about a month after the school had ordered non-Muslim pupils to have their recess in the shower room.
The 31-year-old parent was later released on police bail but is expected to be charged with criminal intimidation soon.

He had allegedly gone to the school on July 25 at 2.30pm and threatened to kill Mohd Nasir.
The parent denied the accusation, saying he had not gone to the school on that particular date.
This comes after Mohd Nasir found himself in hot water during the month of Ramadan for making non-Muslim pupils eat in a shower room during recess.

The issue was exposed by another parent, Guneswari Kelly, who had taken pictures of the students having their meals there and posted it online. The pictures went viral and caused an uproar among the public who voiced their anger over the headmaster's actions.

Guneswari has since transferred her nine-year-old daughter to another school after finding out that she was being subjected to verbal and emotional abuse by teachers and other students.

Non-governmental organisation Malaysia Tamilan Today Welfare Association national secretary K. Gunasegaran, who posted bail for the parent today, said this was the school's way of "diverting the issue".

He said the parent had lodged a report on July 30 against Mohd Nasir and the school for allegedly taking photographs of his 10-year-old daughter in school.

"This happened twice on July 29, when the headmaster had led a man to take photographs of the girl," Gunasegaran said.

Last Friday, two policemen went to the parent's home around midnight and caused a "commotion".
"They did not tell the parent what they came for but stayed for two hours," Gunasegaran said.

The next day Gunasegaran advised the "terrified" parent to lodge a report against the two cops.
Police advised him to go to the Sungai Buloh police station this morning. When he arrived there, police told him they were arresting him and put him in an identification line-up where he was picked out by two teachers from the school.

"I later bailed him and I was told that he will be charged with criminal intimidation on September 9," said Gunasegaran.

"This case seems to be staged and it is obvious the headmaster is just out for revenge. The parent is a whistleblower and this is what they do to scare him. We will sue all of them if this goes on."

Meanhwile, Sungai Buloh police chief Superintendent Junaidi Bujang confirmed that the 31-year-old man was called to give a statement this morning. He declined to confirm that he was arrested.

"Yes, we have called him a few times to come and give his statement following the report lodged by the school's headmaster. But he never showed up so we had to go to him and bring him here," he added.

Junaidi, however, declined to comment on what happened to the parent's report on his daughter being photographed in school. - August 26, 2013.

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