A 9-year-old boy with autism was bullied by a relief PE teacher, who hit him with a volleyball and threatened to put him in a cage. The teacher had apparently taken out his own frustrations over his marital problems on the child. This incident of an autistic child bullied by teacher was first reported on Lianhe Wanbao…
Autistic child bullied by teacher
According to the news report, the child had been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
The first incident took place during a PE lesson on 6 March 2017. The boy had been pacing back and forth in front of his classmates while the teacher addressed the class. The teacher ended up throwing a volleyball three times on the child’s head, hitting him. This was done in front of the whole class.
He later threatened to put the boy inside a metal cage used to store equipment. He even asked the child’s classmates if they wanted to see him caged. Apparently, many of them agreed.
During another PE lesson two days later, the teacher stepped on the child’s foot and dragged him into the PE room. The child was left there locked with the lights and fan switched off for around a minute and a half.
Boy traumatised after the incident
Five months after the incident, the boy continued to be traumatised by it. He had nightmares that his teacher might do it to him again.
It was also reported in the court papers that the child “was very angry, screamed and hyperventilated” when describing the incident to a consultant at the Institute of Mental Health.
Teacher jailed
The teacher was fired from the school in May 2017.
On 8 October 2018, he was sentenced to jail for 3 months and fined $3,000.
District judge Kenneth Yap said that the victim is a pupil with special needs, whose “emotional scars are more serious”, and that, the teacher had set a, “very bad example to the victim’s classmates.”
Also READ: “My Son Isn’t A Threat To Others”, Says Father Of Boy With Autism
(Source: Lianhe Wanbao, The Straits Times)
