The Kuala Terengganu High Court has dismissed a former student’s appeal in her RM400,000 suit against two teachers, a school principal and the government over the seizure and search of her mobile phone during an SPM trial examination.
Judicial Commissioner Yusrin Faidz Yusoff upheld the Sessions Court’s earlier decision to throw out the negligence and defamation claim brought by Nur Nabilah Ahmad Zambala.
The incident took place on 25 October 2020 at SMK Sura in Dungun, Terengganu, when teachers carried out a spot check following complaints that she had cheated during the Sains Rumah Tangga trial paper. A check of the phone turned up notes, examination questions and answer schemes for several subjects.
In his judgment, Yusrin found that the school was entitled to confiscate the phone, but that neither the Education Ministry’s guidelines nor the school’s examination rules gave it authority to go through the phone’s contents. Lawfully holding a device, he said, does not on its own give a right to examine what is stored on it.
He held, however, that these procedural lapses did not amount to negligence, as the teacher had acted reasonably in looking into the cheating complaint.
The judge also observed that how the leaked questions and answer schemes came to be in circulation was a graver concern than the student having a phone in the examination.
This article is general information, not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, speak to a lawyer.