Teacher being investigated

KUALA LUMPUR (AP):

Malaysian police were investigating an Islamic school teacher yesterday on suspicion of beating to death a seven-year-old student accused of stealing seven ringgit (US$2.30) from a classmate.

Saiful Syazani Saiful Sopfidee slipped into a coma and died in a hospital Sunday of injuries sustained at the private school on Thursday, said Mohamad Nadzri Hussain, a district police chief in Malaysia's northern Perlis state.

The student had multiple head injuries and internal bleeding after allegedly being tied to a window for two hours, beaten and strangled.

His 26-year-old teacher is in custody while the death is investigated and could be charged with murder, which carries a penalty of death by hanging on conviction, Mohamad Nadzri said.

Malaysian news reports said it was the worst known case of student abuse in at least 15 years.