PETALING JAYA, July 2 — The National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) wants the three teachers, who allegedly tied up and beat an orang asli pupil in Gua Musang, to be punished.

Its secretary-general Datuk Lok Yim Pheng said the incident was one of the most extreme cases of abuse involving a teacher.

She said teachers were supposed to educate and nurture children to be the best they can be.

“Teachers who do not have the passion to teach need to re-evaluate themselves  because without parental instincts, they are not meant to be teachers.”

Lok said although she was tasked to defend and protect teachers registered with the union, there should be no compromise in this case and action must be taken against them.

On June 15, an 11-year-old girl was tied to a metal post and beaten after she allegedly stole RM3 from one of the teachers.

They allegedly kicked the Primary Four pupil on the face, arms and thighs after which they slapped, punched and even bashed her head against a wall.

Her elderly grandmother with whom she lives lodged a police report on Saturday after being advised to do so by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

A second report was lodged a day later by Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC) project coordinator Koong Hui Yein after an acquaintance of one of the teachers contacted the grandmother to persuade her to withdraw the first report.

Kelantan police chief Datuk Mazlan Lazim said statements were recorded from eight people including the victim, the victim’s family members and the teachers.

The child was sent to a nearby clinic for treatment the day after the incident but still walks with a limp.

NUTP president Hashim Adnan said it was a teacher’s duty to educate the young, especially students from the orang asli community.

“Instead of bullying them, teachers need to help underprivileged students by giving them the best education to make sure they can be placed in society like everyone else,” Hashim said.

Hashim said he had not received any complaints from teachers or anyone from the Gua Musang district over the matter.

MCA Youth has also urged the Education Ministry to suspend the teachers.

The wing’s chief Chong Sin Woon said action against the teachers were needed if the allegations were true that they “took advantage” of the child’s family background and behaved in a “despicable manner”.

“The teachers should be suspended from their duties until they have been cleared by all thorough investigations,” he said in a statement.

Chong also called on police as well as the Attorney-General’s Chambers to investigate the case and press charges under the Penal Code and Child Act, calling the alleged act worse than bullying and akin to child abuse.

Chong, who is also MCA Education Consultative Committee deputy chairman, said the teachers should also face additional charges for threatening the student’s grandmother.