A 14-year-old student who went viral for punching his teacher has changed his plea to not guilty at the Kajang Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.
The Form One student made the plea during a case mention aimed at obtaining a conduct report from the Social Welfare Department (JKM) before sentencing. Previously, on July 30, he had pleaded guilty to causing injury to a male teacher in a secondary school incident.
The charges were read again in Tamil before Magistrate Fatin Dayana Jalil in a closed proceeding, as the defendant is a minor. Outside the court, the student’s lawyer, S Priyalatha, said her client, an only child, was not yet ready to plead guilty and requested more time to consider his options.
The student’s mother was seen crying outside the court, pleading for the public to give her son a chance to reform.
The court has adjourned the case to October 9. The prosecution is handled by Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Nur Alia Safri.
The 14-year-old faces a charge under Section 323 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum one-year jail term, a fine of up to RM2,000, or both. The incident went viral through a 38-second video showing the student punching the teacher during an argument.
