Student sits for SPM in prison

A student had to sit for his Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), English Language paper in prison at Pengkalan Chepa here, as he is under remand for alleged criminal intimidation against his elder brother.

"Nur", 18, said having to take the examination in such a setup was appalling particularly since the offence he had allegedly committed was unintentional and had stemmed from a disagreement with his brother.

"My brother's reaction to hit me caused me to impulsively point the knife at him; I did not expect to land here for it," he told reporters when met at the prison here Thursday.

Nur was remanded on Oct 24 following the alleged incident at his home in Gaal, Pasir Puteh.

He said he was taking the English language paper to hopefully improve his SPM 2012 results in which he obtained 5A,3B,and 1D.

"My concentration is rather muddled right now and I am not very confident in answering the questions," he said.

Nur had to turn down an offer by Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) to follow a plantation management diploma course, as he aspired to be a medical doctor and become an eye or ear specialist.

"Encouragement from family to pursue my ambition to become a doctor gave me the determination to take this examination," he said.

He is hoping that his brother would withdraw the police report and consider his future.

Meanwhile, Kelantan Prisons deputy director Wan Sani Abd Latiff noted from the way Nur had diligently been revising his lessons, that he was determined to succeed.

"He has a strong spirit and has not caused any problem here. We provided him the study material to prepare for the examination," he said.

He said the prison would ensure that inmates who wanted to sit for examinations were segregated to enable them to revise their lessons and be fully prepared.

"We will hand them the material provided by the Prison department, officers and their families," he said.

According to him, 20 inmates were to have sat for their Lower Secondary Assessment (PMR) and SPM examination in the prison this year but 19 had been transferred to the Integrity School in Bentong for female prisoners and Marang Integrity School for male prisoners in Terengganu.