A 13-year-old religious school student in Tangkak, Johor, was allegedly beaten up for more than 30 minutes by four of his seniors.
JASIN, MALAYSIA: A 13-year-old religious school student in Tangkak, Johor, was allegedly beaten up for more than 30 minutes by four of his seniors on Thursday.
The reason? He had apparently stared at them when they were punished by a teacher.
Form One student Afiq Amsyar Abd Rasyid, of Taman Sri Chin Chin here, claimed he was allegedly kicked and punched mercilessly by the seniors in a classroom at 12.30pm that day, before they tied him to the pole of a sepak takraw court. The seniors, aged between 15 and 17, then continued to beat up the boy.
"I was chatting with a friend at our dormitory when the four seniors, who were ordered by a teacher to stand in the school field earlier that day, asked me to follow them.
"I did not suspect anything and followed them. One of them is also the elder brother of my best friend.
"When we reached the classroom, there were three more seniors inside. They started asking me why I had stared at them, before some of them started punching and kicking me."
He said half an hour later, the group brought him to the school's sepak takraw court and tied him to a pole.
Two of the seniors then continued to punch him several times while the others stood and watched.
Afiq Amsyar also said the seniors had warned him not to tell anyone about the incident.
"But in class the next morning, a warden saw my swollen lips and asked me what happened.
"I told him that I fell on the floor, but the warden did not buy my story.
"He ordered me to take off my shirt and urged me to tell the truth upon seeing the bruises," he said.
The boy said he was then brought to see the school principal, who called up the four seniors.
Afiq Amsyar then was brought to Tangkak Hospital for a medical check-up, before a police report was lodged by the school's administration.
Meanwhile, Afiq Amsyar's father, Abd Rasyid Mohd, 48, said he regretted the incident as one of the seniors was the brother of his son's best friend.
"I know that bullying in schools happens, but I did not expect that my son would also be a victim.
"Our family had always been good to one of the boy's brother."
