More misery for Tamil school teachers in UPSR fiasco following appeal

Suspects linked to the UPSR exam leaks last September. Two Tamil school teachers have been acquitted but their schools have barred them from teaching. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, May 20, 2015.

The predicament of two Tamil school teachers who were acquitted last month of a charge under the Official Secrets Act of unauthorised possession of copies of last year's primary school achievement test (UPSR) examination papers continues as the government’s decision to appeal against their acquittal has prevented them from returning to work.

Lawyer Haresh Mahadevan, who represented one of the teachers, said the prosecution filed a notice of appeal against the acquittal of Subbarau Kamalanathan and Murugan Palanisamy immediately after the Sessions Court freed them without calling for their defence on April 17.

"We expected the prosecution to study the grounds of acquittal before deciding to appeal," he told The Malaysian Insider.

Haresh, representing Murugan, said judge Datuk Jagjit Singh, in his 109-page judgment, had provided cogent reasons to free the teachers.

He said the teachers expected to return to work following their suspension but their position was now unclear as a result of the appeal.

"They should be back to work as the trial court had cleared them of the charge."

However, Haresh said a court clerk had informed him that it could not issue an order of acquittal since the prosecution was appealing to the High Court.

The order was needed for Murugan and Subbarau as proof to be submitted to their immediate superiors to return to duty.

"The clerk told me that this is the latest procedure but I have my doubts," Haresh said.

Both teachers had been only receiving half month’s salary following their suspension last November.

Haresh said despite not having the order, he had advised his client to report to the school headmaster in Nilai the very next day after they were acquitted as failure to be present there could pave the way for disciplinary action.

"The school head refused to accept Murugan back despite the entire world knowing he was cleared of the charge.”

Haresh said Murugan was still receiving only half-month wages.

"The entire bureaucracy is resulting in a waste of taxpayers’ money as I believe the school has to employ substitute teachers in the absence of Murugan and Subbarau.”

On April 17, Jagjit said having examined all the evidence, the court found that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against the two.

"The accused have not committed any offence. Just like the missing MH370 (plane), the investigating officer in this case is still trying to ascertain who caused the leakage. So this remains unresolved.

"It is important that the actual culprit be identified and taken to task to avoid future examination leakages," said Jagjit who delivered his verdict to a packed courtroom.

Jagjit also said the failure to call Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as a witness resulted in a serious flaw in the prosecution's case.

The other reason was that the prosecution did not produce in court a gazette whether the minister had delegated powers to the examination syndicate head to classify the examination papers as "sulit" (secret).

Subbarau, 34, who was represented by M. Kula Segaran, was slapped with five charges involving Mathematics Papers (I and II), Tamil Language Paper for Comprehension, and Tamil Language Papers, Writing and Science.

He allegedly committed the offences via a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 smartphone.

Murugan, 36, was accused of unauthorised possession of Mathematics, Paper I, via a Lenovo smartphone.

Both allegedly committed the offences between September 8 and 16 when the examination was in progress.

They were charged under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972, which carries the penalty of a jail term of between one and seven years.

At the height of the police investigations, eight people were arrested nationwide under the OSA in connection with the leak of the UPSR examination papers.

The leaks forced 473,175 pupils from 8,384 schools nationwide to re-sit their Science and English papers on September 30.

Another two Tamil school teachers in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, and an engineer in Kemaman, Terengganu are facing similar charges.

A 13-year-old schoolboy, Ananda Krishan Menon, had also filed a civil suit against the Malaysian Examinations Syndicate and the government following the leaks but it was struck out by the High Court for not being sustainable.

The boy did not appeal the court decision.

- TMI