Student Receives RM129,000 Compensation for Burns During Porridge Cooking Programme

PETALING JAYA: The Teluk Intan Sessions Court ordered a school and two teachers to pay RM129,040 in damages to a Form 5 student after finding them negligent in an incident where the teenager suffered burns from hot porridge during a school programme in 2022.

Judge Gan Peng Kun in his judgment yesterday said, the defendants were negligent for allowing a mathematics class to be conducted in the cooking area while the programme was taking place, besides being slow to take the student to hospital for treatment after the incident at SMK Seri Intan, Teluk Intan, Perak.

M Thanaletchumi, who filed the suit on behalf of her daughter, named the school principal, two teachers and the government as defendants.

In the suit filed two years ago, the student, who is now 17 years old, said the incident occurred in April 2022 when she was instructed to participate in a porridge cooking activity.

She said, she fell on a slippery floor after being pushed by another student from a different class, causing her left hand to fall into a pot of boiling porridge.

The student said, the incident caused trauma due to permanent scarring, besides forcing her to wear long-sleeved clothing to cover the injury. She also felt embarrassed and lost confidence since the incident.

Gan awarded aggravated damages of RM100,000, RM5,000 for the burn injury to the hand and left forearm, RM24,000 for the scarring, as well as RM40 for the cost of obtaining the medical report.

Lawyer Manoharan Malayalam represented the plaintiff, while Federal Counsel Hamida Abdul Kadir appeared on behalf of the government.

FMT