'Pay us or we'll post video '
Police probe 'happy slapping' extortion attempt
April 27, 2007
SLAPPED, stripped and filmed - and then extorted with threats of
the video being posted on YouTube.
That's what is believed to have happened to Jane (not her real
name), a Secondary 2 student two weeks ago.
A group of several older girls from the same CCA group in her
school decided to teach her junior a lesson.
The 'stripping and beating' episode is now the subject of police
investigations.
It may be a case of extreme 'happy slapping' - a fad where an
unsuspecting victim is attacked, while an accomplice records the
assault on video (see report on facing page).
The New Paper understands that in this incident, Jane had agreed to
the 'happy slapping form of punishment'.
SETTLE SCORES
The other students involved in the incident are all Sec 3 and 4
girls. They are members of the school's music ensemble. Jane is
also one of its members.
Students from the school who spoke to The New Paper on condition of
anonymity said that Jane had allegedly been spreading malicious
gossip about her seniors.
The group of six or seven seniors decided that Jane should 'settle
scores' with them. They summoned her and demanded that she accept
their terms. It is understood that Jane agreed.
The group met at a place outside the school and allegedly stripped
and slapped her and recorded the incident on video. They also took
pictures of the attack.
Jane thought the issue had been settled.
THREATENING SMS
But it got worse. She received an SMS from one of the older girls,
threatening to post the video on YouTube if she didn't pay them
money.
It is believed that Jane panicked at this point and made a police
report for attempted extortion.
In an e-mail to The New Paper, the principal confirmed the incident
and said that the school was aware that a police report was
made.
The principal said: 'The welfare and well-being of our students is
of utmost importance to the school. The students involved have been
counselled, and their families informed.'
He declined to provide further details.
It is also understood that the school only knew of the incident
after the police started their investigations.
A police spokesman confirmed that a report has been lodged and that
investigations are ongoing.
Blog posts by some students involved alluded to the incident but
did not include any specific details.
One student wrote: 'Recently, some things happened that involved
us... Crying over spilt milk doesn't help much; you have to face
the consequences.'
In the same blog post, the student wrote that the CCA's
teacher-in-charge spoke about the incident to the students.
'She sounded like she wanted to cry, yet she was trying to control
her tears,' the student wrote, describing her teacher.
APOLOGY
Another student involved apologised to her CCA mates on her blog
for what had happened, mainly because the incident occurred just
before an important performance.
She wrote: 'Sorry I made all of you cry. I didn't mean to do
it.'
Most teachers from other schools whom The New Paper spoke to were
not shocked by the incident. They said they knew of similar
incidents, though these were not known to have been recorded on
video.
Most such incidents, they said, start off as playful
gestures.
Said a secondary school teacher, who wanted only to be known
as
Mr Foo, 34: 'I know of male students who 'taupok' (pile themselves
on top of) their classmates on occasions like birthdays. Sometimes,
they strip their friends too.
'On one occasion, the student sprained his ankle.'
He added that students were increasingly filming such events
because of the accessibility to handphone cameras.
'Sometimes, the students get carried away - they may not intend any
harm.'
A junior college teacher, who declined to be named, said she knew
of students who had hit a fellow student on the head with a bag on
his birthday.
'They also do things like dunking their friends in the swimming
pool, or in the pond, which can be quite dangerous at times,' she
said.
Students The New Paper spoke to said that 'happy slapping'
incidents are relatively common but are seldom serious enough to
warrant police involvement.
Student Ailin Phua, 16, said that she has heard of several similar
incidents.
She said: 'Usually, the school deals with the students, and usually
the students are suspended. But they shouldn't get all violent -
that's just asking for it.'