SMK Methodist Nibong Tebal, where a teacher accused a student of stealing her iPhone, was attacked this morning.

A motorcyclist allegedly threw stones at its main gate about 10.15am. The incident was witnessed by a guard and a teacher. 

No one was injured in the incident.

The school in the town of Nibong Tebal on mainland Penang is in the centre of an iPhone theft controversy after a student died a week after attempting suicide.

After she was accused of stealing the smartphone, M. Vasanthapiriya, 13, attempted to kill herself in her bedroom on January 24.

She survived but died last Thursday after spending a week in coma at Seberang Jaya Hospital.

Since the attempted suicide, the teacher has been facing a public lynching, namely on Facebook with people condemning her for allegedly causing the teen to try to kill herself.

It was alleged that the teacher reprimanded and hit Vasanthapiriya in front of her classmates, locked her in a room in the teachers’ office, and then took her home to confront her parents.

The teacher has since been removed from the school and posted to a desk job at the southern Seberang Prai district education office, pending investigation on whether she had breached the standard operating procedures.

The school’s parent-teacher association (PIBG) chairman Teoh Seang Hooi said he learned of the incident from the principal after the attack.

He said such acts could worsen the situation.

“I appeal to the public not to take the law into their own hands.

“The PIBG will hold a press conference after the police and Education Department release the results of their investigations.” – February 5, 2018.