Straits Times, Singapore, 30 May 2003

Six Sec 3 boys tape themselves beating classmate

Three are expelled and three caned after cornering boy in classroom twice and beating him up

By Ben Nadarajan

ON TWO consecutive days, six teenagers from a top boys' school here beat up a classmate while documenting it all on video.

Three in the group have since been expelled. The other three were caned during morning assembly earlier this week.

The school's vice-principal said the three caned had no history of wrongdoing.

The three who were expelled had committed other offences and had been given warning letters before, she added.

She requested that the school not be named.

The six Secondary 3 boys first cornered their classmate in class during recess on May 8.

Using their fists and other items in the classroom, they hit him until he fell to the ground - but not before they had prepared their digital video camera to capture their actions.

The boy did not complain to his teachers after this first assault.

The next day, the same scene was repeated and videotaped again.

The boy would probably have stayed tight-lipped, but this time, another student saw the attack and told a teacher.

She confiscated the video camera and handed it over to the principal.

The vice-principal, who viewed the recording, said: 'If they videotaped such an act for viewing later, it is very sick. It shows a lapse in the normal way of thinking.'

All in the group are 'bright kids from good families', sources said.

One of those expelled is believed to be a star player in the school's rugby team. The others are also school athletes.

In contrast, the victim of the attack is said to have been the 'non-sporty' kind.

The boy, who stays in the school's boarding facility, was apparently picked on by his schoolmates often because he was rather aloof.

The vice-principal said: 'Whatever the boy may have done, it does not warrant this kind of treatment.'

The boy only suffered minor injuries to his arms and knees.

But the behaviour of the boys 'went well beyond the normal boundary of what is deemed tolerable', she said.

The school alerted the police to the assault on May 13.

The group is now being investigated by the police for the two incidents.