- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Keerthi Mohan
THE teenage boy who threw cheese at his schoolmate who later died told an inquest that he didn’t know that it would kill him.
Karanbir Singh Cheema suffered an allergic reaction to cheese at his school in Greenford, West London, in June 2017.
Karanbir, known as Karan, was severely allergic to wheat, gluten, diary products, nuts and eggs. He was also asthmatic and suffered from atopic eczema.
Giving evidence during an inquest, the teenage who cannot be named, said he didn’t know about Karan’s diary allergy.
“I thought maybe he would get a fever or a rash and miss school for a while… I didn’t know it could lead to death,” said the teen who was 13 at the time.
He said he “flicked” the cheese at Karan from about a foot away. “I think it landed on the left side of his neck.
When asked why he flicked the cheese, the teen said it was “usual behaviour in year eight”.
The second boy who handed his classmate the cheese said he didn’t know cheese was diary.
He said: “At the time I didn’t know dairy was cheese – milk and yoghurt, I would say that was dairy. I knew he was allergic to some things, dairy and pollen. I knew he probably had more (allergies), but I was only informed of the other ones.”
Addressing the family the boy said: “I just want to say that I didn’t mean any harm – I’m sorry, I’m sorry for what I did.”
After Karan went into anaphylactic shock staff administered two spoons of piriton, an EpiPen and gave Karan his inhaler. But he stopped breathing shortly after paramedics arrived.
Karan was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital but died ten days later.
