AJMAN: Call it school negligence or a child's prank, a 10-year-old boy has been left with second degree burns, an expanded cartilage of the ear and fear of going to school after some hot water was poured on his head and left ear.
The mother, Yasmeen Ahmad, slammed the school for ‘negligence’ that has left her son Hamdan Mohammad (10), a grade 5 student studying in The Royal Academy school in Ajman said her son has been left traumatised following the incident.
Ahmad said besides the second degree burns, her son has been left with an expanded ear, which will require plastic surgery due to the hot water melting his skin and cartilage.
The mother said she has filed a police report at the Hamidiya police station in Ajman just opposite the school (case number 3573). She has also filed a complaint with the Ministry of Education (MOE) (case number 000-323093-S1Y6).
Further, Ahmad said the incident was the hand of a prankster in the class, a popular bully who opened a thermal flask and poured it on Hamdan's head.
The incident occurred on Wednesday (June 12) when the school was in session and the students were in their fifth period. “My son said there was no teacher in the class to supervise the students at the time of the incident.”
“Hamdan is traumatised, I don't know how to console him," said the mother.
“The back of the ear has melted and you actually see the inner third layer of the skin.”
Hearing the news
“At 11.30 am on Wednesday, I got a call from the school supervisor. She said my son poured water on his head but claimed she did not know the full story as she was not present at the time of the incident.”
The mother claimed that after asking her son as to what transpired that day, he said a boy in the class poured the water on his head.
She added: “When the supervisor called me she said my son only suffered tiny bristles and that he had been taken to the nurse. She said he is taking rest. So I assumed it was nothing serious.”
After an hour, Ahmad said, she received another call from the supervisor. “She said he only has tiny bristles but my son was scared of all that had happened. She said please don’t shout at him when he comes home because he poured water on his head.”
This was followed by another call from the school to the parent informing Hamdan had been sent home in the school bus. And when he arrived home at 2.30 pm, Hamdan’s father was shocked to see him.
“My husband was horrified. His ear had expanded to the size of a palm. It had expanded right up to his neck. And he was in pain. I got a call from my husband who said my son's ears were melting. I told him to rush him to the hospital.”
When the father asked him what happened, Hamdan said a child in his class did it as a joke. “ My question whether my son poured water on his head or another child did it where were the teachers when this happened. Having said that, I completely trust my child. He is intelligent and sensible, why would he do something foolish like this. He does know the difference between hot and cold water. And I did not send a flask of hot water with him that day to school,” said Ahmad.
She visited the school next day. “The supervisor of the school admitted the school was at fault and that such an incident should not have taken place. But when I met the principal he said it was my son’s fault. He said I was merely doing all this to gain some financial benefit out of this whole thing. How on earth can a mother do something like this. I am horrified to say the least.”
When approached by this newspaper, the principal of Royal Academy said: “Regarding the incident which took place on Wednesday, the student, Hamdan Ahmad was carrying a flask of hot water. He told his class-mates to watch him pour water on his head. A student who was watching this touched his head and ear to see what happened. Ahmad reported to the teacher that he himself poured the water on his head. And added to this said he told the teacher not to inform his mother. The child was taken to the nurse in the school who said Ahmad suffered a first degree burn. We gave the child ice packing on his head and applied burn oil as first aid on the ear. All through we were in touch with the parent. In the afternoon at 12.45 pm we asked the parent if we should put the child in school bus. And they said yes. At 2.30 we made sure the child was handed over to his father at home.
The next day the mother came to the school and she was furious. She was also verbally abusive. I have recording of all that she said.
At the time of publishing this story online, the principal of the school said he was meeting Hamdan's parents tomorrow as they have also filed a complaint with CID.
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