A Qatar appeals court has upheld a QR3,000 fine given to a school principal for repeatedly stabbing a second-grader with a sharpened pencil, Al Sharq reports.

Following the December 2011 assault, the principal, who has kept her job at the school, reportedly told the father of the child stabbed that “this is the best way to discipline children. I used to burn the hands of my son when he was young.”

After several hearings, a lower court levied a fine against her, and an appeals court recently upheld it.

The child sustained injuries on his arm, hand and back.

The incident sent shock waves throughout households in Qatar and prompted the Supreme Education Council to remind school officials that they are not allowed to discipline children using corporal punishment.

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Credit: Photo by Nicholas Jon