Boy says bus driver hit him
2008-03-10 09:14
Pretoria - The singing of a seven-year-old boy apparently irritated a school bus driver to such an extent that he hit the boy on the leg.
Pieter Oosthuizen, 7, a Grade 1 learner at Transvalia School for Epileptics in East Lynne, Pretoria, was further traumatised by the school's deputy principal "cross-examining" in the absence of his parents.
The incident happened on Wednesday on the way to Pieter's parents' house in Silverton. His parents, Frans and Miemie Oosthuizen, laid a charge of assault against the bus driver.
According to Oosthuizen, Pieter was sitting next to the driver. The driver shouted at him and slapped him because he sang.
Visible marks
"I got angry and pinched the driver on his leg," said Pieter.
According to his mother, the driver must have slapped him very hard, since the marks were still visible later on. "They were bright red."
Pieter's father made a statement at Silverton police station and sent a copy to the school.
He initially did not file a charge against the bus driver.
When he asked the driver on Saturday afternoon why he had slapped Pieter, the driver said Pieter was naughty and didn't want to stop singing.
"Now he does not allow Pieter to sit next to him, but he must sit in a corner in the back along with the girls."
"I told the driver to get out of the car so that I could beat him so that he could experience how he had humiliated my child," said Oosthuizen.
Oosthuizen was also angry about his son being cross-examined in the absence of his parents. "Now the school claims Pieter gripped the steering wheel. He also apparently grabbed the driver by the neck and pinched him."
According to Pieter "the teacher said I'd better tell the truth, and he would hit me if I cried".
The deputy principal said he did not want to comment before the parents had been to the school.
Police spokesperson Captain Jan Sepato confirmed that the police were investigating a charge of assault.