KUALA LUMPUR - A Form Four Malay student, who was caught with a cigarette and a lighter in his locker, was forced to smoke 42 cigarettes as punishment by the hostel warden.

Mohd Alif Arifin, 16, of SMK Langkawi, Pulau Tuba said he had no idea about the cigarette in his locker, but his denials were not headed and he still received his punishment, witnessed by other teachers and students.

“It went on for more than two hours. I was forced to smoke four cigarettes at a time until I finished 42 cigarettes,” the New Straits Times Online quoted him as saying.

After the incident, he was sent home to his aunt and uncle in Kampung Selat, Bagan Nyiur, who have looked after him since the death of his parents.

“The school told me he wasn’t feeling well. He was coughing continuously and he was very quiet,” his aunt Faridah Mat Zain said.

“But two days later, I noticed his lips were swollen and got him to tell me what happened. He couldn’t eat for five days,” she revealed.

Arifin was taken to a clinic, which referred him to Langkawi Hospital, and his uncle, Husni Mat Zain, lodged a report at the Kuah district police headquarters on July 29.

“We arranged a meeting between the warden, a committee member of the parent-teacher association and the school principal,” deputy district police chief Deputy Superintendent Harrith Kam Abdullah said.

“The warden asked for forgiveness and the family accepted, so we consider the case closed now,” he said.

He said it is up to the state education department to decide the appropriate action.

The assistant director of the district education department, Halid Ali, confirmed he had received a complaint about the incident, and said the warden’s action was not appropriate.

The case was still under probe, he said, and the findings would be sent to the state education department. (ANI)