Girl, 7, bruised after fall in school bus
A father is demanding answers after his seven-year-old daughter sustained facial injuries in a fall inside the school bus, alleging discrepancies between the school's account and his daughter's experience.
Fareen Airis was on her way to school on Aug 1 when the incident occurred. Her father Farid Osman said he was informed by the school that Fareen had fallen on the bus.
However, the photo he received from his wife painted a more alarming picture – Fareen's face was visibly swollen around her forehead, eyes and nose bridge.
"Can you imagine what went through my wife's head?" Mr Farid shared in a Facebook post detailing the ordeal.
Fareen's form teacher, who met Mr Farid at the hospital, explained that classmates reported seeing the young girl flung from her seat when the bus allegedly braked suddenly, causing her to hit her face on a speaker in the bus.
However, Mr Farid claimed the school later informed him that the driver denied applying the brakes hard or that any such incident occurred. The school also relayed that other students on the bus did not report feeling sudden braking.
"I just find it odd that the school did not find it odd strange that my girl suffered a facial injury due to a hard fall in the bus and that the driver was telling the truth," Mr Farid expressed in his Facebook post.
Further fuelling his frustration was the issue of the in-bus camera footage. He claimed the school initially retrieved the camera's memory card but could not access the data.
The card was then returned to the transport company, leaving Mr Farid without crucial evidence.
"Last Friday, after the school was unable to decode the sd card and view any footage, the sd card was returned to the driver," Mr Farid wrote.
In the same update, he shared that while the school was offering its full support, including a planned home visit by the principal and teachers, the footage remained inaccessible. He was relying on the transport company to decode the footage and awaiting further communication from his assigned Traffic Police investigating officer.
"What if the footage has been overwritten? SD card is now with the transport company," he wrote, highlighting his anxiety over the situation.
Fareen, thankfully, sustained no fractures or damage to her septum. However, she lost a baby tooth and may require corrective surgery on her nose.
As at Aug 5, significant bruising was still visible around Fareen's eyes and nose bridge.
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now