Primary 1 schoolboy goes missing after being bullied

Article

Bullying in school is nothing new, and the attack on this boy may seem trivial. Tom (not his real name) got only a bruise on his right leg, and fingernail marks on his left arm after five classmates allegedly set upon him; attackers were all 7-years-old. He said that when he asked them to stop, they kicked and pinched him.

"I wanted to go up to the second storey to run away from my classmates who were attacking me, but they pushed me to the floor andI hurt my chin," claimed Tom.

He then got up and was given a punch before he decided to run to the library. Other pupils who saw the attack looked for the discipline master, but could not immediately find him, he said. Tom tried to find his form teacher and also tried to call his mother, but he claimed the school phone didn't work. Feeling helpless, he ran out of the school crying even before the school assembly started in the afternoon. The vice-principal of the primary school confirmed that Tom had been attacked by five of his classmates in school and that the matter is being investigated. Tom claimed that the boys who attacked him had often taunted him with nicknames like "loser"and "idiot". Tom's mother, Madam Rina said she knew about the name-calling, and that Tom had often asked if he could transfer to another school because of it.

"But I brushed aside his complaints as I thought that it was common among kids to call each other names," she said.

"Moreover, his form teacher was also aware of it.

"But the attack was over the limit. I don't know why my son was beaten up and I want to find out why."

MadamRina said she decided not to make a police report after a discussion with Tom's father, 35, an operations executive in a security company.

They decided to let the school carry out the necessary actions instead.

My views

Kids nowadays are getting more and more uncontrollable. I think this has to do with the background life of a bully. A bully can inherit those behaviors from family or friends especially parents, play a major part in children's lives and can have an influence on their behavior. Parents talking with children about how to treat others and how others should be treating them AND being good role models themselves could be the most effective tool to fight against school bullying. In Toms's case, I think those attackers have to be counselled and they should be punished. More efforts needed to help ensure that school is a safe and secure environment for children.

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