Boy aged 11 dies after being beaten with a water hose at Malaysia religious school

An 11-year-old boy has died after allegedly being beaten so severely at a religious school in Malaysia that two of his limbs had to be amputated.

The boy had spent two weeks in a coma after an attack that was allegedly carried out by a member of staff at an Islamic school in the state of Johor.

He and other students were reportedly struck on the legs with a water hose – leaving the boy with injuries so severe his infected legs had to be amputated. He later fell into a coma, from which he did not recover, dying from his injuries on Wednesday (26 April).

An assistant warden at the school was arrested in connection with the attack on Saturday (22 April), Reuters reported.

District police chief Rahmat Othman told the news service: "We are now waiting for the medical and autopsy reports from the hospital before taking further action."

The hospitalisation of the child and his subsequent death have prompted national outrage, as well as questions over how religious "tahfiz" schools are monitored, particularly given they largely operate outside the remit of the ministry of education and thus are not subject to the same guidelines on corporal punishment.

Malaysian Prime Minister Prime Minister Najib Razak shared his condolences following the young boy's death, writing on Twitter: "I would like the investigation into this case to be speeded up and for legal action to be taken if any offences were committed."

His comments on the incident came a day after he announced a £5.4million fund for the development of tahfiz education.