The Education Ministry wants action to be taken against the Civil Defence Force (APM) officer responsible in an incident which saw schoolchildren being forced to wade a pond containing snakes.

“I hope APM will investigate the officer so that such a thing will not recur,” Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan said in a press conference in Shah Alam today.

Expressing regret over the incident, Kamalanathan said the APM officer had already been told by the teacher who had accompanied the affected students, not to throw the snakes into the muddy pool for the team-building session.

“But the officer said there was no need to worry as the snakes were not venomous. However it’s not an issue of whether the snakes were venomous or not. The students can be traumatised over this as they are still young – they are still in primary school,” Kamalanathan pointed out.

He also confirmed that the school had previously sent students for the training, but that this was the first time that such an incident had occurred.

“Normally they will just ask the students to run in the pond, that’s all,” he said.

The Kuala Kangsar district education office has lodged a report on the matter and an investigation is ongoing.

The school - Sekolah Kebangsaan Beluru - has also been instructed to deal with families and students affected so that counseling can be provided, added Kamalanathan.

In the two-minute 50 seconds video clip posted on the Friends of PDRM Facebook page on Sunday, a group of female schoolchildren can be seen wading through a muddy pond with a snake in it.

More snakes were then thrown into the pond and the children were sprayed with a water hose and told to “be brave”.

Screaming and crying hysterically, the students frantically tried to climb out of the pool.

Netizens largely condemned the incident saying that schoolchildren should not be subjected to such traumatic treatment.