FTP - By Angela Lim – May 12th, 2010
A video of an enraged youth repeatedly slapping and hitting his
female schoolmate in an HDB lift has sparked a wave of outrage
from Singapore netizens.
Taken inside the lift, the video, that
has been posted on STOMP, shows the male student repeatedly
slapping the girl and slamming her head against the lift
walls. The conversation in the video reveals that
the girl was being accused of ratting on him to the teacher,
which she denied.
The attack lasted more than a minute and was filmed by another
female student.
Judging from the students’ uniform, comments on online forums
suggest they are from Siglap Secondary
School. The school’s principal Low Joo Hong
confirmed this to The New Paper. Strangely enough, tough,
in photos from the assaulter’s blog, it seems both
schoolmates are close friends.
And yet, this incident of school violence is not the first of
its kind in Singapore or elsewhere.
In January this year, a video of a bullied Malaysian
teen made its rounds on the Web.
The video, taken at the stairwell of a shopping mall
in Selangor, shows one of the girls slapping the student
before others take turns to punch and kick her. The attackers
continued to taunt her even as she got down on her knees and
pleaded with them to stop.
Last October, a video clip
titled “Shanghai Girl beaten” was also widely circulated
online. The clip, shot with a mobile phone camera, lasted five
minutes and shows a female attacker furiously
kicking another girl in the waist and belly as well
as slapping her in the face.
Angry netizens retaliated by publishing the attacker’s
personal information online and even launched a mass protest
demanding justice for her violent behaviour.
Teen violence in schools is not just a problem that plagues
Singapore but is increasingly a global concern. The
recent suicide of
Temasek Polytechnic student Melissa Toh also
brings to mind the many problems young teens face.
Do you know what your kids are up to these days and should
parents step up to take more responsibility?
What should be done to punish those guilty of teen violence
and how can a repeat of such violence be avoided among
youths?