Tenom: Police are investigating a bullying case involving a primary school girl who was allegedly beaten, kicked and had her hair pulled by a fellow student at a hostel in SK Enubai, here.
Tenom District Police Chief Supt Azmir Abd Razak said the victim’s father lodged a report at the Tenom police station at 8am Tuesday.
He said the incident is believed to have occurred on June 11, between 6.30pm and 7.30pm, at the school’s girls’ hostel (Aspuri Desa).
Preliminary investigations showed the 10-year-old victim, a Year Five pupil, was allegedly bullied by an 11 year-old female student following a dispute involving a clothesline at the hostel.
It is understood that the victim accidentally bumped into the clothesline, causing the suspect’s clothes to fall to the ground.
Dissatisfied, the suspect allegedly scolded the victim before pulling her hair and taking her into a hostel room.
Inside the room, the victim was allegedly beaten, kicked and had her hair pulled repeatedly. At the same time, two other female students are believed to have recorded the incident using the suspect’s mobile phone at her instruction.
Investigations showed the video clip of the incident was kept for two days before being uploaded to the suspect’s WhatsApp on June 13. The footage later went viral on social media platforms.
The victim reportedly did not inform her parents about the incident when she returned home for the weekend, resulting in the matter only coming to light after family members received the video recording.
The victim is reported to have suffered injuries, including a fractured left leg and facial pain.
She was referred to a hospital for further examination and treatment.
The three female students believed to be involved have been detained by police to assist in the investigation.
Police will record statements from all parties involved, including the victim, suspects, witnesses and school authorities.
Police confirmed that an inspection of the scene found the viral video matched the actual conditions at the hostel. However, the original source responsible for disseminating the video on social media platforms has yet to be identified and remains under investigation.
The case is being investigated under Section 325 of the Penal Code for causing grievous hurt, Section 507B of the Penal Code and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 relating to the dissemination of online content.
