By NALINEE SEELAL Wednesday, October 7 2009

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CHARGED: Kyle Bobb, 19, leaves the Arima Magistrates' Court yesterday after he appeared charged with the murder of schoolboy Kareem Hosein, 17, who wa...

POLICE yesterday ordered Form five students of St Joseph’s College in St Joseph to strip down to their under garments as the officers carried out a search for $1,400 reportedly stolen from the school bag of a Form Five student.

This action resulted in angry parents demanding a full-scale probe into the police’s action. According to reports, at about 2 pm, a Form Five student went to Principal Kester De Verteuil and reported that $1,400 which was in her school bag, was missing.

De Verteuil advised her to report the matter to the St Joseph police. The student complied with the instruction and later returned to the school accompanied by a male and female police officer. According to reports, the officers spoke to De Verteuil and the officers went to the Form Five class where they spoke with students about the missing money.

The officers ordered male students to one class room and the females to another. The male and female students were ordered by the male and female officers, respectively, to strip down to their undergarments and were then searched. After the search, some students telephoned their parents and complained. The money was not found and officers returned to the station. One parent told Newsday that she will be filing a complaint to the Ministry of Education and will also forward a copy to acting Commissioner of Police James Philbert. “My daughter was in tears when she called me and I am shocked that in this day and age, my child was humiliated in such a manner,” the angry parent said.

The women then passed the phone to her daughter to speak to this reporter. “I was crying after being made to strip...it was a terrifying experience and my classmates were also in a state of shock,” the student said.

The parent said she and other parents intend to visit the school today to seek a meeting with De Verteuil. They claimed that they have already contacted their attorney and legal advice is being sought in the matter. Contacted for comment, De Verteuil confirmed that the incident did occur but added that the action of the police was their own doing. He said he was not aware why a student was in possession of such a large sum of money.