A Limassol district court on Tuesday slapped a female primary school teacher accused of causing bodily harm to an 11-year-old pupil in her class with an €850 fine.
In February 2018, a complaint by the parents of then 11-year-old student was filed against her after she allegedly dragged him forcibly out of her classroom.
Trial proceedings began on October 12, 2022 and the accused also has to pay €450 in legal fees.
The minor, his relatives and witnesses had testified in closed-door proceedings and then they were cross-examined by the defendant’s lawyer.
During the plea for mitigation, the teacher’s defense lawyer said that a long period of time – over five years – had passed since the incident.
And that there was a form of extrajudicial punishment since the teacher had suffered with anxiety over the outcome of the case all these years.
The defense lawyer also pointed out the teacher had a clean criminal record and highlighted the impact a prison sentence would have on her career.
The teacher, thinking that the then 11-year-old boy had asked a classmate to move seats pulled his chair, causing him to fall to the ground and hit the ground.
She then began pulling the student by the arm, dragging him, to get him out of the classroom, which he did.
The young student was then taken to Limassol General Hospital First Aid where he was found to have mild pain in his right ribs, abrasions on his right shoulder and arm and three abrasions on the lower part of his left arm.
