A FORMER MIC branch chairman, who allegedly solicited sex from a teenager, has been transferred out of the school where he was teaching, said Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan.

The teacher has been given desk duties at the Education Department while the sex allegation is being investigated.

A police report has also been lodged against him.

“I have got the audio clips and we are probing the case,” Kamalanathan (BN- Hulu Selangor) said in Parliament lobby today.

The deputy minister said the suspect’s behaviour does not represent the 4,000 MIC branch chairmen nationwide.

“We have 4,000 MIC chairmen. They are reputable people. This one does not represent the rest,” said Kamalanathan.

Earlier, said Charles Santiago (DAP-Klang) suggested that anyone working with children and youth should be screened prior to employment.

Santiago said pre-employment screening for jobs involving children is to ensure their safety and security.

“Teachers and kindergarten school operators and workers should be screened before they are hired.

 “And the are many more like him (the MIC branch chairman) out there, with access to children and teenagers. So, it is pertinent to make pre-employment screening and police checks mandatory for teachers, volunteers and others who work with children or have access to them.”

The teacher, who was also MIC branch chairman, had quit the party after the incident went viral.

The incident has left MIC leaders, particularly its treasurer-general S. Vell Paari, fuming.

Kamalanathan also told the media yesterday that the person will be sacked from his position as a teacher if the allegation proves to be true.

He said the ministry had asked the relevant district education office and state education department to provide a report on the matter.

Klang MP Charles Santiago, meanwhile, said the latest case is a clear indication a mandatory pre-employment screening for jobs involving children is needed.

He said the screening was needed to ensure the safety and security of children from sexual predators.

“Professions like teachers and kindergarten school operators and workers should be screened by the authorities before they are hired,” said Santiago.

He said it is frightening that the man who was caught on an audio clip allegedly promised a teenager employment in exchange for sex, had been off the radar for this long despite boasting of having indulged in such liaisons over the last four years.

“And the are many more like him out there, with access to children and teenagers. So it is pertinent to make a pre-employment screening and police checks mandatory for teachers, volunteers and others who work with children or have access to them,” said Santiago. – November 2, 2017.