A 7-year-old girl experienced bruising on her face, allegedly resulting from being thrown from her seat on a school bus. Farid Osman shared photos on Facebook of his daughter, Fareen Airis, showing visible swelling around her forehead, eyes, and nose bridge, the aftermath of an incident that occurred on the morning of August 1 at around 7 AM. According to Farid, Fareen was ejected from her seat when the bus abruptly braked, causing her face to collide with the speaker directly in front of her, as depicted in an illustration shared by him showing Fareen seated in the first row.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Farid was met with the sight of his daughter being transported out of an ambulance, and her form teacher shared accounts from other passengers on the bus, detailing how the sudden stop had propelled Fareen forward. Despite the severity of the incident, Fareen fortunately did not suffer any fractures or nasal septum injuries, though a doctor mentioned the potential need for nasal correction in the future.
Contrary to the family’s account, the school bus driver refuted claims of any emergency or harsh braking. School authorities conveyed to Farid that other students aboard did not experience any abrupt stops, and the driver was purportedly unaware of Fareen’s injury upon impact with the speaker. This discrepancy in accounts left Farid perplexed and skeptical of the school’s stance, especially as they reiterated that Fareen had not been wearing her seatbelt and seemingly suggested she might have inflicted the injuries upon herself.
In speaking with AsiaOne on August 11, Farid, aged 41, noted that his daughter still bore the bruises from the incident and they awaited a follow-up specialist consultation. Additionally, Fareen lost a baby tooth due to the fall, a detail Farid disclosed in subsequent Facebook posts, albeit downplaying its significance.
In seeking clarity and evidence, Farid hoped to secure footage of the incident captured by bus-mounted cameras and had filed a police report toward this end. On August 2, he mentioned his daughter’s recount of the driver “staring at her” post-fall. However, efforts to retrieve and view the footage were hampered as the school reported being unable to access the data on the camera’s memory card, which was then returned to the transport company.
The family’s ordeal received attention through Farid’s social media sharing, with photos posted on August 5 depicting Fareen’s significant facial bruising.
This incident highlights concerns over child safety on school commutes, shedding light on the necessity of stringent safety measures and protocols aboard school buses to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
