High Court awards boy RM30,000 over broken leg in religious class

The Terengganu High Court ruled that the sessions court made a mistake in dismissing the evidence of two young witnesses who claimed to have seen the teacher violently throw a nine-year-old boy onto a chair during a Quran and Fardu Ain class. The nine-year-old boy, representing himself through his mother, sued for RM30,000 in damages after suffering a broken right tibia, or shinbone, in the July 6, 2022 incident at SK Tasek, Marang.

The court found that the sessions court correctly rejected the defendants' claim that the boy fell while playing. However, the High Court disagreed with the rejection of the eyewitness testimony and the evidence from an orthopaedic specialist that the injury resembled an impact or strike. The judge emphasized that the sessions court should not have dismissed evidence based solely on suspicion without substantial proof.

The teacher, Ahmad Mursyidin Abdullah, was found primarily liable for assault and battery, as well as potentially negligent. The court held Yayasan Islam Terengganu, the defendant organization, vicariously responsible for the teacher's actions. The defendants were ordered to pay RM17,000 in costs, including interest, and to refund RM10,000 in security for costs already deposited by the plaintiff. The defendants have appealed the decision to the Court of Appeal.