Court orders ex-teacher to pay RM88,000 for 4 slaps that caused injury

A retired secondary school teacher in Kota Bharu was ordered by the High Court to pay RM88,069 in damages to a former student who suffered injuries after being slapped four times by the educator in 2019. The case, involving history teacher Isamuddin Ismail, 63, was brought against him by Adam Maidin, now 21, through his mother, Noor Azleen Mohamad, 47, according to Sinar Harian.

Justice Rosli Yusoff ruled that Isamuddin had a duty of care towards his students and had physically assaulted Adam by slapping him on the face and cheeks with both hands from behind. The court took into account medical evidence and hearing tests, confirming that Adam experienced injuries as a result of the slapping. These injuries included pain on his face and ears, dizziness, reduced hearing, and tinnitus.

The incident occurred in the morning of a school day when Isamuddin approached Adam from behind while the student was seated at his desk with classmates. Adam sought treatment at Berek 12 health clinic and was later referred to Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital in Kubang Kerian for further examination by an ear specialist. The medical report released in June 2019 revealed that Adam had experienced hearing problems in his right ear, specifically a mild to moderate mixed hearing loss, which was determined to be a traumatic injury likely caused by the slaps.

As a consequence of the incident, Adam transferred to another school after being terrified of encountering the teacher again. It is reported that he required approximately two to three years to fully recover from the trauma inflicted during the incident. The school principal, the education director-general, and the government were also named as defendants in the civil suit, representing them was senior federal counsel Siti Syakimah Ibrahim.