PETALING JAYA: The mother of a teenager accused of punching his teacher in July has pleaded with the public to give her son a chance to turn over a new leaf.
Speaking tearfully after the case’s mention at the Magistrate’s Court here, the woman in her 40s urged people to stop condemning her son, especially on social media.
“I know what he did was wrong, but please give him the opportunity to change.
Do not create negative narratives about him. He is still young, and the harsh criticism has only added to my stress,” she said at the courthouse on Thursday (Sept 11).
The single mother added that the case has also taken a toll on her health.
This comes after the 14-year-old boy who went viral in a video showing him punching his teacher changed his plea to not guilty after the charge was read again in Tamil.
The boy, a Form One transition student, was arrested on the day of the incident and remanded for two days to assist investigations.
The case mention was fixed to obtain a social report from the Social Welfare Department (JKM) before sentencing.
He had initially pleaded guilty to a charge of voluntarily causing hurt to a 29-year-old male teacher in a secondary school incident at about 4.48pm on July 28.
The court then set September 11 for sentencing, pending the social report.
Under Section 323 of the Penal Code, the offence carries a maximum one year’s imprisonment, a fine of up to RM2,000, or both, upon conviction.
The case gained widespread attention after a 38-second video clip went viral online, showing a heated argument between two males which ended with the student punching the teacher on the cheek.
