A TEACHER, who was accidentally locked in a school on a Saturday afternoon and injured herself trying to get out, is suing the Ministry of Education (MOE) for negligence and for not ensuring a safe working environment.
Madam Sivakami Sivanantham, 39, also contends that MOE has caused her to suffer wrongful or false imprisonment.
At the start of the hearing on Monday, the teacher at Zhangde Primary School testified that the school moved to its new premises in Tiong Bahru in 2005.
On Feb 11, 2006, she went on a Saturday to do some work and prepare her classroom for the following week. Leaving her handbag in the teachers' staff room on the second storey, she was in the classroom till 12.30 pm.
She then found that the roller shutters to the staff room and the ground floor exits of the staircases all locked. Her mobile phone was in her handbag so she tried shouting for help but to no avail. In a 'state of frenzy', she climbed out a ventilation gap at a staircase and jumped down some 3.7 metres. She injured her right ankle and had to hospitalised and awarded medical leave for more than a year.
From Straits Times, "Teacher sues MOE".
