AP News, July 26th, 2007
A teacher who forced nearly 140 teenage girls to squat in a fish pond as a punishment for throwing sanitary pads into toilet bowls has been reprimanded but will keep her job, an official said Thursday.
Wee Yim Pien, 27, an English-language teacher at a boarding school in eastern Sarawak state on Borneo island, will not be suspended from her duties, said Julaihi Bujang, Sarawak's deputy director of the education department.
"She is young and a very good teacher," Julaihi said. "In fact, most of the students want her to remain in school."
The incident made headlines over the weekend when newspapers published photographs of the girls sitting neck-deep in murky water.
Wee has since personally apologized to the 138 students and their parents, Julaihi said, stressing that "the whole episode is over."
Wee declined to comment when contacted.
The media coverage sparked a public outcry, with some members of the public calling for Wee's dismissal.
Julaihi said the incident could be "a blessing in disguise," showing other teachers that they must exercise caution and restraint while penalizing students.
Following the incident, local media have highlighted other cases of alleged abuse.
Also in Sarawak, seven high school male students allegedly caught littering have filed a police complaint that they were caned so badly last week that they could no longer sit and sleep properly because of injuries.
Julaihi said investigations into that case were ongoing, while the accused teacher has taken a leave of absence for two months. Corporal punishment of boys using a rattan cane for serious offenses, such as smoking, is permitted in Malaysian schools.
