Bullying in schools: Five incidents involving student victims

On Tuesday (Aug 16), a teenage girl was filmed being beaten up by three 15-year-old girls in the multi-storey carpark of Block 269 Compassvale Link.

The girl was punched in the face multiple times by her three assailants, hit with a pair of rubber sandals, and dragged to the ground by the hair.

Two teenage boys, who were standing nearby, did not intervene.

Three girls were arrested on Wednesday for wrongful confinement and are under investigation for voluntarily causing hurt.

The Straits Times looks at five other cases of bullying involving students.

1. Two girls punch and kick schoolmate in carpark

 

A video of two teenage girls cornering another went viral earlier this year, after it was uploaded on Facebook group Complaint Singapore on Jan 17.

The victim, who was in her school uniform, was chased by one girl, while another one grabbed her by her ponytail, causing her to fall to the ground. She was then kicked repeatedly.

Declining to reveal which school the students were from, a Ministry of Education spokesman said that the school had counselled the students involved and engaged their parents.

2. Ngee Ann Polytechnic student counsellors urinate on peers

 

On March 22 last year, a video clip of some Ngee Ann Polytechnic students urinating on two other male students, who were naked and squatting in a campus toilet, was circulated online.

In the video, when one of the victims tried to clean himself, another student shouted: "No showering!"

After the incident, Ngee Ann Polytechnic said that the 28 students involved - all boys in their second or third year - would be disciplined. Punishments ranged from corrective work orders to suspension.

The school also added an anti-hazing policy to its student code of conduct and said that educational efforts to emphasise the importance of mutual respect and responsible behaviour would be stepped up.

3. ITE College Central student slaps schoolmate

On March 12 last year, a video was uploaded on Instagram showing a young man from ITE College Central taunting one of his schoolmates in a toilet on campus.

In the video, the young man grabbed the victim by his left arm while repeatedly asking him "What's wrong with you?".

He then ripped off the victim's mask, slapped him and hurled vulgarities at him.

Following the incident, ITE College Central expelled the bully and said it had contacted the victim and his family and extended support to them.

4. Primary 5 pupils at Mee Toh School target Malay classmate

This incident, which took place in March 2020, involved Primary 5 pupils writing insulting notes to their classmate, an 11-year-old girl.

The victim's sister uploaded photos of these notes to her Twitter account. The notes had insults such as "you are dumbo the elephant" and "you look so ugly and you really turn me down, you make puke (sic)".

The Twitter user said that previously, the bullies had scribbled on her sister's uniform with markers and called her names. She added that her sister was one of only a handful of Malay pupils in Mee Toh School.

A spokesman for Mee Toh School said that the pupils involved were counselled and disciplined and their parents were informed. The Primary 5 pupils responsible for the bullying also apologised to the victim.

5. Secondary school girl with dyslexia told to kill herself

In March 2019, a Secondary 1 girl started to receive unkind comments on anonymous messaging platform Tellonym, which was popular among teenagers then.

The comments ranged from taunts calling her an "idiot" to comments that "she should kill herself".

The girl was also bullied by two boys in her class, one of whom threw a pack of biscuits at her face.

Although the incidents continued for months until October 2019, the girl alleged that her school did not take any action against the culprits. In February 2020, the bullying resumed, with one classmate insulting the girl, who has dyslexia, over her learning disorder.

Responding to media queries in 2020, the school, which was not named in previous reports, said that it had counselled the girl but regretted that the support it provided was inadequate.