“Do we know what the assistant warden was found guilty of?
“Did the school bother to check if he had a history of violence or rage?”
In a statement today, Santiago said the school authorities had failed to protect Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gaddafi from “blatant abuse”.
This was despite accounts by the boy’s aunt of the ill-treatment suffered by both Thaqif and his fellow students, he said.
“The school must be shut pending a thorough investigation into the abuse of not just Thaqif but all other kids as well.”
Asking how such abuse could have gone unnoticed by the school, he added that the growth of religious schools in the country also raised the question of monitoring.
“Is there a regulatory body that overlooks these schools? Who licenses the teachers and the wardens?
“What are the check-and-balance mechanisms, and are best practices in place?”
Thaqif was admitted to Hospital Sultan Ismail on April 19 for injuries to his legs after he was allegedly beaten by his school’s assistant warden. The 29-year-old man has a previous criminal record, having been convicted of theft and jailed 30 months about three years ago.
On Friday, doctors amputated his legs in a bid to prevent infection to tissues and blood cells in his body. The following day, though, he lapsed into a coma.
Doctors later found that his right hand had also turned black after turning necrotic. Thaqif was due for further surgery to amputate his right arm yesterday morning.
However, it was postponed as the condition of his heart was not stable. He died hours later at 2.06pm.
“We need answers,” Santiago said. “The public needs to know that such deaths won’t happen again.”