A former secondary student who was caught hiding an iPhone in her underwear while sitting for SPM trial exam six years ago hauled several parties to court over distress she allegedly suffered.
However, the lawsuit was thrown out by the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court and the ex-student was ordered to RM100,000 in costs to the defendants.
What happened
According to NST, the ex-student was sitting for her SPM trial on Oct 25, 2020, for the Home Science subject at SMK Sura in Dungun, Terengganu, when teachers carried out a surprise inspection.
This comes after several students expressed suspicions that she was cheating in the exam.
Following the inspection, an iPhone 6 was found hidden in the ex-student’s underwear and teachers found that it contained notes and materials related to the exam, including documents containing questions linked to the paper.
As a result, she was awarded only 1% in several subjects under the school’s examination regulations.
Files lawsuit
Although she expressed remorse at the time of the incident, the ex-student, now 23, sued two teachers, her school principal, the Director-General of Education, and the government.
In the lawsuit, she sought compensation for alleged negligence, improper search and defamation.
She also claimed that she had been subjected to an improper body search in front of other students and alleged that statements accusing her of cheating had damaged her reputation and caused emotional distress.
Court rules against ex-student
However, the Sessions Court wasn’t impressed by the lawsuit, with judge Wan Nor Aklima saying that the entire episode was a direct consequence of the ex-student’s actions.
“The plaintiff claimed she kept the phone in her underwear because she was afraid it would go missing if it was left outside the examination hall.
Why did the plaintiff need to place the mobile phone in her underwear in the first place? Why the underwear, and not the pocket of her shirt?
“In the court’s view, this was something that had been planned and was not a spontaneous act.”
The judge also stated that the inspection was conducted in a closed hall with only female teachers around and that no inappropriate physical contact occurred.
She also dismissed the defamation claim, saying that the teachers’ statements were made during a disciplinary investigation and protected by qualified privilege.
The judge also raised questions over how the ex-student managed to get her hands on SPM trial examination papers for several subjects that year beforehand.
“In the court’s view, this was the real issue at hand, yet it appeared to have been overlooked by all parties,” she added.
The ex-student is now taking her case to the High Court after the Sessions Court dismissed the lawsuit.
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