KUANTAN, MALAYSIA - Wan Zainura Wan Badri is furious. Her 14-year-old son was assaulted by several schoolmates on Thursday, but what really got her blood pumping was that she was told the incident took place right in front of teachers who did not do anything to stop it.

As a result, Megat Hafiz Saharudin, of SMK St Thomas, was left with a swollen left eye.

He had been punched and kicked on the head and face by three boys as he was leaving the school compound.

Wan Zainura and Hafiz came to the New Straits Times office here yesterday after lodging a police report.

"I learnt that the teachers had witnessed the incident, but did not stop the boys until some parents who were waiting to pick up their children intervened.

"To make matters worse, the teachers did not inform me of the incident. I only found out when a friend, who was there at that time, told me about it."

Hafiz said his vision was still blurry.

"My whole body aches from the blows I received," he said, adding that he was taken to the Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital for outpatient treatment following the incident.

Asked about his assailants, Hafiz said they were schoolmates, but he had never run into any trouble with them.

School headmaster K. Nandakumaran, however, denied that his teachers did nothing to stop the incident.

He claimed it was the teachers who stopped and called for the ambulance to take Hafiz to the hospital.

"We also caught one of the boys who attacked him and handed him over to the police."

Nandakumaran said a report was later lodged at the district police headquarters.

He also said he had on Friday met with the pupils involved and their parents and it was decided that the matter would be left to the police.