Boy, 14, sues Attorney General

A 14-YEAR-OLD schoolboy has taken the Attorney General to court alleging that the school he attends — Mucurapo Junior Secondary — failed to save him from a near fatal stabbing incident earlier this year. Schoolboy Mikael Williams is challenging the school’s failure to implement a suitable security system to prevent students from entering the school compound with weapons or metal objects or from carrying knives around in the school. He is also challenging the school’s failure to implement or ensure a sufficient anti-harassment policy that could have protected  him from the assault. William’s writ was filed on his behalf by his mother Lisa Ann-Marie Pyango. The summons  named the Attorney General as the defendant and the legal documents of the Form One student, were filed in the Registry of the Port-of-Spain High Court on December 21.

According to Williams’ documents,  he was stabbed by a female student on March 9, while both of them were at school. The 0.5 centimetre stab wound was to his epigastrium which is an area in the chest below the heart. According to Williams, a doctor said that had he been stabbed two inches higher, his heart would have been punctured. He spent five days at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital recovering from this stab wound. His recollection of the incident was that during the evening shift, at about 3.45 pm, he was going for his book bag and was walking in an area of the school between the Welding Room and the Wood Arts Room, when he stopped to talk to a friend. Williams said he heard a noise behind his back as if someone was speaking loudly, but he continued speaking with his friend. Williams said that as soon as his friend left, two boys with their heads covered in ‘bandandas’ (large handkerchiefs) ran past him with one of them sticking something into his (Williams) shirt pocket. On checking the pocket, Williams saw a five dollar bill inside it.

Williams said he turned around and asked loudly “whose five dollars is this.” As he did so, the female student allegedly grabbed him by the shirt and stabbed him. He said he did not realise that he was bleeding until he asked the said female student  why she had stabbed him, to which she replied if he wanted more. It was at that time, he felt the blood trickling down his body and saw the female student holding a small knife in her hand. The girl then fled the scene but was apprehended by a teacher who took both of them to the principal’s office. The principal was not there at the time, so the incident was reported to the vice-principal.  Williams is contending that prior to him being stabbed, he was continuously taunted, harassed and abused by the said girl and that she would also encourage other students to do the same. He also alleged that she would use obscene language towards him and attempt to fight or provoke a fight with him. Sometime in February, when the situation became overbearing, he reported the matter to his class teacher who promised to take it up with the school principal. But as far as he was aware, no action  or measures were put in place by the teacher or principal to deal with the situation.