JOHOR BAHRU: A 10-year-old boy from a children's home here has alleged physical abuse by a Sekolah Kebangsaan school teacher.
The alleged assault at the boy's school has left him with visible bruises and a blue black marks on his face.
The operation manager of the children's home where the boy resides had noticed the injury and reported the matter to the police at the Larkin station.
In the report, the manager claimed that the boy was involved in a disagreement with another fellow student at the school's computer lab, when a teacher suddenly confronted them.
The manager said the teacher allegedly slapped and punched the boy on the right cheek while trying to resolve the altercation.
"The boy suffered pain and bruises on his right cheek. I find it unacceptable for a teacher to behave in this manner towards a student," she said.
The incident sparked outrage on social media, with representatives from the home questioning the teacher's actions.
"Can a male teacher slap a child's face? When the child fell down, crying, he was punched again. Then his hair was pulled, and he was dragged to the office room.
"Is it because he has no parents that the teacher dared to do this? Or because he stays in a welfare home, does that mean he can be treated worse than an animal?
"This is not discipline. It is outright abuse," read a Facebook post shared by the children's home representative.
The representative added that while the boy may have been mischievous, any disciplinary action should have followed the Education Ministry's standard operating procedures.
"Caning is acceptable if done according to ministry guidelines. But this was a brutal assault, leaving the child with visible bruises on his face.
"We have filed a police report and leave it to the authorities to take appropriate action," the post continued.The home hopes the investigation will ensure justice for the boy and due accountability for the teacher's alleged misconduct.