KUALA LUMPUR: The family of a secondary school student who was killed by a flying blade from a lawn tractor will only be compensated by the contractor once the police complete their investigations into the incident, the education ministry revealed today.

Deputy Education Minister Chong Sin Woon said this was to ascertain whether the contractor should be held liable for the incident.

“This falls under the jurisdiction of the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM). When the investigation is completed, only then will we know who is responsible. I cannot answer for PDRM,” he told the Dewan Rakyat in response to a supplementary question from Anthony Loke (DAP-Seremban) on compensation for the student’s family.

Chong said the ministry’s takaful insurance had paid RM5,500 in compensation to the family on Feb 23.

The ministry, he said, had also issued a circular on the safety of students in schools to all school administrators on Feb 28.

The circular stated that all maintenance work, including grass-cutting, should be done when no students are around, whether before or after school hours, he said.

In the Feb 13 incident, SMK Tuanku Abdul Rahman student Nur Afini Roslan, 14, was killed when a blade from a lawn tractor which was mowing the grass on the school field snapped and hit her on the head.

Two other students from the Gemas school were also injured.