JOHOR BAHRU: A male teacher at a religious school in Pontian, who allegedly assaulted a group of pupils, will be placed at the district’s Islamic Education Office pending investigation.

Johor Islamic Religious Affairs Committee chairman Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid said the teacher would be reassigned to the office while the affected pupils would be granted leave.

“The state government is treating the case seriously and a police report has already been filed,” he said, adding that the district’s Islamic Education Office is fully prepared to cooperate with the police.

“I urge everyone to respect the investigation process and the subsequent actions, including any disciplinary measures that may be taken,“ he said in a Facebook post today.

Earlier the media reported that the 48-year-old teacher allegedly slapped, hit and attempted to strangle a Year Four pupil and three Year Five students after they purportedly caught him smoking in a storeroom last Wednesday.

Dissatisfied with the teacher’s actions, the parents of the pupils involved lodged a report at the Ayer Baloi Police Station.