Eleven-year-old Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gaddafi, who allegedly suffered a catastrophic beating at the hands of the assistant warden at his religious school, an ex-convict, has died.
Earlier this week, he had both legs amputated, with doctors saying they would also need to amputate an arm today. His condition remained critical throughout, and reports from this morning stated that doctors could not stabilize his heart.
While doctors were hopeful on Sunday that his condition would improve, it was reported that his right arm and fingers had turned black due to damaged blood cells and tissue, and they were prepared to amputate in order to save his young life. Preventing infectious blood from poisoning the rest of his body was imperative. The young boy’s kidneys also began to fail as a result of the grotesque abuse that had been inflicted.
The boy’s father, Mohd Gaddafi Mat Karim, 43, confirmed that his son passed away at approximately 2:05pm at Hospital Sultan Ismail today while they were reciting prayers for his recovery. He never made it to the operating theatre for his much-needed treatment.
The shocking pictures made headlines over the weekend, with a nation asking just how an ex-convict could be allowed to work so closely with children. The school in Kampung Lukut, Kota Tinggi near Johor, admitted that the assistant warden beat several children with a water hose. Judging by the graphic images and the extent of the damage, that hose must have been made of lead.
Even more heart breaking were the diary passages that the boy’s aunt is said to have found hinting that the abuse had been on-going. The boy wrote:
Dear Allah, please open my parents’ hearts to allow me to transfer to another school because I cannot stand it anymore. Please, Allah, make my wishes come true.
A huge issue in regulation over such schools is the lack of accountability of responsibility when these situations occur. Child activist James Nagayam has been fighting this for several years.
“Does it come under the purview of the state government, the Social Welfare Department, the Education Department or the Religious Department? When you ask, nobody seems to know,” he said. “I don’t know whether they’re trying to avoid responsibility or not, but they’re all not sure whether it’s theirs to begin with.”
According the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam), to reports dating back to 2012 show that these schools need neither to register themselves, or be monitored. This unregulated environment essentially means that they can run as they want, with no oversight.
Until someone comes forward to take responsibility for the gross lack of oversight that opened the door for the death of Mohamad Thaqif Amin Mohd Gaddafi, children like him will continue to suffer.
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