Mother wins lawsuit against int’l school for negligence in daughter’s bullying case

GEORGE TOWN: A mother has successfully sued an international school and its principal after her four-year-old daughter was bullied on multiple occasions in 2018, including one incident where she suffered a bloody nose.

The Sessions Court here found that the school was negligent in not taking appropriate action following the incidents and failed in its duty to provide a safe environment.

The 40-year-old businesswoman brought the lawsuit against the international school and principal in 2018.

The school denied ignoring the complaints of bullying and claimed that those involved were punished.

However, the woman’s lawyer, John Khoo said the court found that the school did not raise the matter with a team responsible for handling bullying and other disciplinary issues.

“Sessions Court judge Datuk Nasir Nordin ruled in our favour after finding the school negligent and in breach of its duty to provide a safe environment for the girl.

“The court took note of the school’s failure to refer the five incidents to a safety team, as outlined in the school’s guidelines,” he told on online portal.

Khoo said the court ruling favoured the plaintiffs by awarding them damages and costs. However, he did not disclose the amount.

According to the woman’s statement of claim, her daughter was bullied and physically assaulted by classmates in 2018, which resulted in a bloody nose.

She noted that despite her complaint to the school’s counsellors, she received no response, but instead received an email from the principal accusing her of accosting the parents of the boys who had hit her daughter.

She added that the school also sent her an email asking her to consider whether the school is the best fit for her family and accused her of having “disturbed a peaceful community”.

The school, in their statement of defence, denied ignoring the complaints of bullying, stating that they had immediately punished those who attacked the girl and informed their parents.

The school admitted to instances of bullying, including an incident where the victim was attacked for picking up a puzzle piece belonging to another classmate and in another incident when she approached a classmate playing with a toy car.

However, the school denied that the bloody nose was a result of an incident at school and claimed that they had taken sufficient action in response to all instances of bullying.