PETALING JAYA: The 10 students involved in a bullying case at Sultan Azlan Shah Mara Junior Science College (MRSM), Kuala Kangsar, have been expelled by the school’s disciplinary committee.
In a statement, Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) director-general Datuk Azhar Abdul Manaf said the disciplinary committee has carried out detailed investigations, and decided to expel the students – which takes immediate effect.
A video of the incident involving Form 1 students at the college went viral on social media recently.
In the video, a student was seen being assaulted by a group of his peers.
“Mara takes the bullying incident seriously, and the penalty decided shows we will not compromise with bullying among students in our educational institutions.
“We hope this will be a lesson not only for the students involved but also to other students that such actions are not tolerated,” he said in a statement.
Last week, police picked up 10 students – nine 13-year-olds and a 15-year-old – over the incident. They were all released on police bail after being questioned.
Meanwhile, a reminder not to watch pornographic videos was believed to have caused the bullying incident, Perak police chief Datuk Mior Faridalathrash Wahid said. He said the initial investigation revealed that the advice given by the 13-year-old victim to one of the suspects had caused the latter to be dissatisfied and angry and triggered the incident.
“An interview with the victim found that he was bullied after he advised one of the suspects not to watch pornographic videos on his mobile phone or else he would report the matter to the teachers or wardens,” he told reporters after a meeting with Perak auxiliary police at Dewan Agro Aman Jaya. Investigations revealed the incident took place between 1am and 2am on December 9 and involved a 13-year-old victim.
Mior Faridalathrash said initially, the argument involved only the victim and one of the suspects, but a Form Three student had called up his friends to step in and attack the victim.
Eight witnesses have been called to testify and the police confiscated 11 mobile phones for further investigation.
He added that two police reports on the incident were received from the school principal and the victim’s father, and the case would be referred to the Deputy Public Prosecutor for prosecution once the investigation is complete.
The student was currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Selangor and is in a stable condition without any serious injuries.
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