Special needs teen and father file civil suit against an international school in Kuala Lumpur for alleged mistreatment

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA: A 14-year-old Syrian special needs teenager and his 60-year-old father have jointly filed a civil suit against an international private school in Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.

Last year, the boy and his father lodged a writ of summons against the school owner in Kuala Lumpur’s sessions court.

The lawsuit alleges negligence in response to the mistreatment of the teenager by another student at the school.

The boy was diagnosed with Cohen syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), gastrointestinal issues and asthma.

According to their statement of claim, the family contends that the school acted negligently during the teenager’s enrollment period, which lasted from 3 Oct to 7 Nov, 2021.

During the first week of enrollment, as reported by Free Malaysia Today, the boy displayed excitement about attending the school, and his behavior was positive at home. The class size during this period was around two or three children.

However, around ten days into enrollment, the teenager’s behavior began to deteriorate.

The family observed skin-peeling on his fingers and feet, and they claimed that the school failed to provide him with adequate food.

Additionally, the boy would return home with dirty feet and exhibited unusual difficulty and stubbornness.

The plaintiffs further alleged that the boy started imitating other children at the school by shrieking and shouting. Moreover, the size of his class increased to six or seven students.

The family claimed that a classmate struck the teenager around 1.40 pm at around 1.40 pm on 8 Nov 2021, causing bruising but a school representative dismissed the allegation.

However, the school representative dismissed the allegation, asserting that the wound was self-inflicted and that the boy had struck another classmate before banging his head against the classroom wall.

The father also alleged that the school representative described the teenager in an insulting and degrading manner, akin to an “animal”.

Subsequently, the family withdrew the boy from the school and filed a police report against the school at the Sentul district police headquarters (IPD) on 16 Nov 2021.

In their lawsuit, the family seeks general, special, aggravated, and exemplary damages, as well as a declaration stating that the special needs school breached its duty of care.

The suit is set for full trial before sessions court judge Halilah Suboh on Tuesday (1 Aug).