KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican today ordered the National Sports Council (NSC) to look into allegations of mental abuse after the sibling of a national athlete took to social media to expose the abusive conduct of a Taekwando coach.
Reezal Merican was responding to the social media post by Lavinnia Subramaniam yesterday, who alleged that her sister — 23-year-old Dhaassheni Subramaniam — was humiliated in front of the national team by coach Rusfredy Tokan Petrus, who hurled insults at her, including regarding her deceased mother.
“Thank you for the information. I have instructed the director-general of NSC Malaysia to investigate this matter immediately,” Reezal said in a Twitter reply.
YBM @reezal_merican , is this how our national heroes are being treated by MSN ?
— Dharshinee Suresh Kumar (@ayeitsdharsh) May 3, 2021
Kebajikan atlit negara tidak dijaga dan dihina oleh ketua jurulatih dan tiada tindakan diambil oleh pihak MSN walaupun telah dilapor !
The coach was also intoxicated, do help to get attention pls pic.twitter.com/aTCLE4vMuV
A police report made yesterday by Dhaassheni’s father, Subramaniam Raghavan, was also shared on social media detailing the alleged abuse.
The report claimed that at 10.30pm on April 28, Rusfredy allegedly convened all Taekwondo athletes at the NSC premises in Bukit Jalil, and spoke harshly to the athletes.
“He then approached my daughter and spoke very harsh words such as ‘my brother died for the nation, but your mother died for nothing’. The coach then told my daughter he would use his ‘cables’ to eliminate my daughter from the national team,” read Subramaniam’s report.
Subramaniam also reported that Rusfredy allegedly smelled of alcohol at the time of the incident.
When contacted, Lavinnia said her sister had joined the national Taekwondo team in August last year, and Rusfredy has mentally abused her sister on several occasions since then.
“We don’t even know why he has been doing this to her,” she said.
She added that their mother passed away in 2017 due to cancer.
