BOY HOSPITALISED IN SCHOOL PORN INCIDENT SAYS: 'I really regret
it now'
By Josephine Chew
IT was apologies all round yesterday over the porn VCD incident at
a secondary school in the West.
When The New Paper spoke to Tom (not his real name) who had been
discharged from hospital on Wednesday, he said he was sorry for the
entire incident.
Sorry for watching pornography on the sly, sorry for his part in
the VCD fracas, and most of all, sorry for lying to his
parents.
'I really regret it now, it was definitely a mistake and I will
never repeat it again,' said the 14-year-old.
And he's not the only one. The principal of the school has also
apologised to the parents of the 17 boys.
It was in June last year that the then 13-year-olds had watched the
pornographic VCD.
It caught up with them with a vengeance when the school found out
about the incident.
Tom fell sick when he was detained with the other boys and had to
be hospitalised.
According to Tom's parents, he became 3kg lighter over his two-day
stay at the hospital.
He had been warded on Monday evening after a congenital condition
affecting his intestines acted up after he went without water and
food for seven long hours.
His first solid food was more than 24 hours after he fell
sick.
And even now, he has to forgo his favourite food, fried chicken
wings, because he can only have mild foods such as soup and
rice.
Tom said he was not yet 100 per cent fit.
But, despite what happened, he is looking forward to school.
'I'm a bit angry at the school now over the incident. I asked for
water at about 11am and the teacher said no. When the pain started
at about 2pm I didn't say much - they'd think that I was bluffing
anyway,' he said.
'But I want to go back to school. All my friends are there.'
He's even been keeping up with the homework so he won't be left
behind.
'My friends know that I want to keep up so they bring my work over
for me,' said Tom. His mother has taken four days' leave to look
after him, the younger of her two teenage sons.
The tight-knit family hopes to put this incident behind them,
although they are still none too pleased with the school.
'If he's done wrong, of course, he should be punished - there's
really no question about that. But the way in which they handled
the entire issue is what I'm concerned about,' said Tom's
father.
'How could they deny that the boys asked for recess or drinks? My
son is fully aware of his condition and how painful it can be when
it acts up. Even if he hadn't told me so, I would have been sure
that he had asked for water.'
But the one good thing out of all this? Well-wishing friends and
visitors.
So far 20 friends have dropped by.
Said Tom: 'I'm really happy. And also happily surprised because I
don't even know some of them very well yet they came over just to
see how I was.'
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal calls, writes letters to say sorry
ON Wednesday, the principal of the school personally called parents
of most of the 17 boys to apologise for forgetting to give the boys
recess.
However, Edwin's (not his real name) mother was not
convinced.
When Ms Tina R spoke to The New Paper on Wednesday, she was still
up in arms over the treatment of her 14-year-old son.
'It's good that she apologised. But it's not enough, what I want to
know is what is being done to make sure something like this never
happens again.
The principal sent notes to the parents through the boys to
apologise for the incident.
As Edwin is still not at school, the principal got his mother's fax
number and sent one over, promising to mail a note the following
day.
Ms Tina R, a businesswoman in her 30s, faxed a copy to The New
Paper yesterday.
It read: 'We refer to the incident on Monday, 9 February 2004. In
our haste to complete the investigation that day, we overloooked
our students' need for food and drink during the period. We
apologise for our oversight.'
The principal also asked Ms R to let Edwin return to school.
'We are concerned that (Edwin) has been absent fron school for
these three days... his teachers and I are anxious for him to
return to school to continue with his lessons. We will do our best
to support him,' wrote the principal.
The apology made a difference.
'Sending this over shows that she really does feel sorry and I will
consider sending my son back to school, especially since he's been
begging to go back,' said Edwin's mother in a change of tack.
'But I don't know why she called the police without consulting us.
Yes, it's only right that the school take action when our children
do things that are wrong. But they need to behave
responsibly.'
Another parent was less forgiving.
Ms P F, who also got a note through her son, said: 'What I want is
for someone to take responsibility over this issue and for some
change to take place. It's not only about my own son any more but
every other student out there.
'I will not rest until something is done.'
