Nibong Tebal: “I miss my child, only God knows how I feel,” said R. Muniandy, 54, who was the father of the late M. Vasanthapiriya.
His daughter died Feb 1, after attemtping to commit suicide on Jan 24.
During a press conference in his house, he said many parties were trying to twist and turn the details of the events, without realising that it’s smearing the name of his daughter and their family.
He said a few newspapers have claimed that there is closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing that his daughter stole a teacher’s phone.
“Information that does not have valid authentication from authorities does not help us face the fact that we have lost out child.
“In fact, certain parties are trying to direct the focus towards my late daughter, claiming that she had attempted suicide before and had health problems,” he added.
According to him, a newspaper also published a statement by deputy education minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan saying that his late daughter had slit her wrist in 2016.
In the report, Kamalanathan claimed that after that incident the family made no attempts to take her to see a counsellor to get further help.
Muniandy stressed that his late daughter did not suffer from any mental health issues and rejected the allegations that the deceased has previously tried to commit suicide.
“My daughter was a normal child, and as a father I would have known if she had any mental health issues.
“She was always cheerful and never had any problems with her friends at school, and was always liked by her teachers.”
In the meantime, president of the Malaysian Tamilan Kular, David Marshel, who organised the press conference, said inaccurate news reported by the media will tarnish the image of the deceased.
“The student has already passed away and has no chance of defending herself. If it’s true, I plead to the relevant parties to show proof of the recoding showing that the deceased had taken the teacher’s mobile phone,” he said.
Following the events on Jan 24, Vasanthapiriya, 14, died at Hospital Seberang Jaya on 1 February after hanging herself with a saree cloth.