His parents today said he had also been able to give an account of the alleged abuse he suffered, to his medical doctor at the Hospital Sultan Ismail in Johor Baru where he had been warded.
“Thankfully, when my son was sick and still alive, he was able to give a statement to the police and the doctor on how he suffered,” his father Mohd Gaddafi Mat Karim, 43, was quoted as saying by Bernama.
He added that his wife, Felda Wani Ahmad, 40, also gave a statement at the Kota Tinggi police station this morning to facilitate investigations into the alleged abuse.
He said she had been called to give the statement by the police.
She had lodged a police report on April 18 after Thaqif’s condition had worsened, which led to the arrest of the school’s assistant warden at his home in Felda Lok Heng Barat, Kota Tinggi, on April 22.
According to Bernama, Felda said that she shared with the police information that Thaqif had related to her when he was conscious.
“The investigation into the case is currently underway, but the statement I made was based on what my son told me,” she said.
She added that as a mother who personally witnessed her son’s suffering, she could only leave the matter of the investigation to the police and would assist them as best she could.
She also said she did not blame the madrasah or anyone else, and accepted the incident as fated.
Gaddafi added that although they accepted their son’s fate, he was dissatisfied with the accusations certain people had levelled at himself and his wife.
Thaqif passed away after doctors were forced to amputate both his legs due to the injuries he sustained at the Madrasah Tahfiz Al Jauhar (MTAJ), a private Quran recitation boarding school (tahfiz) in Kota Tinggi.
His remains were buried at Felda Bukit Aping Timur at midnight on the same day.
The assistant warden, reportedly an ex-convict and the individual accused of having beaten the boy, was remanded earlier for investigations into the matter.
On April 25, The National Association of Tahfiz Al-Quran Institutions (Pinta) said it was willing to provide legal aid to the school and the assistant warden.
Its president, Mohd Zahid Mahmood, claimed that the boy was only beaten on the sole of his foot based on the school’s CCTV recording.
He was also quoted by Bernama as saying that the incident had cast a negative impression on tahfiz schools and the association was concerned about the adverse effect it had had on their reputation.
Professor: What was school doing while boy’s legs were turning black?