Parents of a Sikh teenager attending national service training is crying foul after their son woke up on Sunday to find that about two and a half feet of his hair had been cut off.

In the Sikh religion, the cutting of hair is strictly prohibited as part of a practice known as kesh .

Surinderpal Singh, 47, said he and his wife are very distraught and they now refuse to allow their son to continue attending the course.

"He is very traumatised after the incident. Tomorrow, worse things might happen," said Surinderpal when contacted by Malaysiakini .

The son, whose name had been withheld by the parents, began his ordeal after a long day of training on Saturday and slept soundly that night.

According to the boy's police report, he realised something amiss the following morning when he tried combing his hair and immediately contacted his father at about 6.30am.

"He realised that he couldn't make a knot," said Surinderpal, who incidentally is a Sikh temple priest in Jalan Gurdwara, Ipoh.

The boy's hair which initially reached his buttocks, is now only chest length.

The teen does not know who was responsible for the incident and was unable to find any traces of his lost hair or the instrument used to cut it.

Not returning to camp

Surinderpal said that he and his wife immediately left for the Seri Impian training camp in Sungai Bakap, Penang.

At the camp, they waited for about an hour to meet the camp commandant who was away as it was a Sunday.

During the meeting, the commandant allegedly said trainees are barred from possessing scissors and nail cutters, suggesting that the instrument used to cut the teen's hair may have been brought in by parents during weekend visits.

The commandant was then said to have promised an investigation but only agreed to allow the teen to go on leave until Jan 23, after some initial hesitation.

Surinderpal said, that given his son's ordeal, he would not allow him to return for training unless the authorities offer him a guarantee over the safety of his son and all trainees.

"I don't have confidence in them (camp authorities). I am also scared more harm would come to my son... My son kept his hair for 18 years. In just two weeks, (most of) it is gone.

"He is quite shaken up. We, as parents, are also shaken up. We are in a dilemma now. Today, this has happened to my son. It can happen again to other children of any faith. Can the authorities convince parents that the training camps are safe?" he asked.

NS DG: Isolated incident

The boy lodged a police report on Jan 16. In it, he claimed that the camp commandant had stated that this is something "normal" done by "naughty youths".

"I have to report back to the camp on Jan 23 but I don't want to continue my training. I am not satisfied with the incident because it involves religion.

"I want legal action to be taken and this matter must be thoroughly investigated," read the boy's report, a copy of which was made available to Malaysiakini .

nasional service khidmat negara 220307 training standing Contacted today, National Service Training Programme Department director-general Abdul Hadi Awang Kechik said that the case is an "isolated incident" and that parents should not be overly alarmed.

"This is a special case, but we need to check (the facts) in detail. I cannot comment on the parents' views. My job is to check (the facts) in detail and take action accordingly," he said.

He was responding to a question on how the department plans to instill confidence in parents that their children are safe in the training camps.

Abdul Hadi was unable to provide further comment as a full investigation is in progress.

However, he confirmed that he has received a preliminary report on the matter.

He stressed that it is not part of the department's standard operating procedure to require Sikh trainees cut their hair.

Abdul Hadi is scheduled to hold a press conference in Putrajaya this evening to provide further details.