GEORGE TOWN: The Form Two student, who attempted suicide after being accused of stealing her teacher's iPhone recently, remains in critical condition.
Malaysian Tamilar Kural secretary Satees Muniandy said the 14-year-old's father told him this morning that he saw tears in his daughter's eyes when he was talking to doctors about her condition, which had shown a slight improvement.
"He believes his daughter can hear him, thus the tears. The whole family is praying that the girl will recover soon.
"According to the father, specialists attending to his daughter will wheel her to the neurosurgical department for further checks either today or tomorrow," he told the New Straits Times when contacted.
As such, Satees said reports that the teen was brain dead was untrue, saying that she had been in a coma ever since the incident with severe brain injuries.
Malaysian Tamilar Kural is helping the teen's family seek justice.
Deputy Education Minister Datuk P Kamalanathan, who visited the girl at the Seberang Jaya Hospital this morning, urged "everybody to continue praying for her recovery".
"This morning I visited M. Vasanthapiriya at the Seberang Jaya Hospital. I also met her father Muniandy and spoke to him regarding his daughter's condition and to give any assistance required.
"I also met Vasanthapiriya's doctors and was updated on her status and condition," he said on his Facebook.
It was reported that the girl had attempted to commit suicide after being accused of stealing her teacher's iPhone.
The girl, from a school in Nibong Tebal, was apparently summoned by four teachers on Wednesday and quizzed over the disappearance of one of the teachers' mobile phones.
Despite her repeated denials, one of the teachers reportedly struck the student for failing to own up to the theft.
The teacher and her husband, who is also a teacher but from another school, allegedly threatened to lodge a police report on the matter.
The girl, however, maintained her innocence and her father, who was told about the case later, was adamant that she did not do it.
Overcome with emotion, the girl later tried to hang herself at home. However, she was saved by her father.
She also left behind a suicide note “Teacher I did not take your phone" written on a torn page of her school exercise book, along with goodbyes to her parents and grandmother.
The father had reported the matter to the police on Friday.