29 Mar 2012

Samoa teacher charged with assault of 8 year-old appears in court

8:31 am on 29 March 2012

In Samoa, a teacher charged with assaulting an eight year old girl appeared in the District Court this week.

Telesia Funai of Fausaga, Safata, is charged with assaulting the child in class.

The girl died a few days after the assault.

The parents of the eight year old said she had complained of a bad headache.

Police asked that the matter be adjourned so they could finalise their investigations. The hearing for the defendant has been continued to April 10.

The incident prompted Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi to call on the Ministry of Education to deal with abusive teachers.

He said the student's death is a reminder to the ministry of education to be more vigilant in the monitoring of teacher performance.