UNICEF urges Malaysia to ban corporal punishment in schools

The UN children's agency is urging Malaysia to ban corporal punishment in schools, a day after the death of an 11-year-old boy allegedly abused at a religious school.
The boy died today, just days after both his legs were amputated due to a bacterial infection after he was allegedly whipped with a water hose at a private Islamic boarding school last month.
Police have detained the assistant warden, who allegedly whipped the boy and several others as punishment.
The UNICEF representative in Malaysia, Marianne Clark- Hattingh, said Thursday that corporal punishment is the preferred form of discipline for children in Malaysia.

She said the boy's death was a "stark reminder of the negative consequences of corporal punishment and violence as a form of discipline.