3 Sengkang Green pupils suspended for bullying classmate; one caned

Boys had sent death threats to girl's mother; school acted 'in timely manner', says MOE

- Aqil Hamzah

A pupil from Sengkang Green Primary School has been caned for his involvement in bullying a female classmate, with the school acting "in a timely manner", said the Ministry of Education (MOE).

The boy is among three Primary 3 pupils suspended after death threats were sent to the girl's mother. She had earlier reported them to the school for bullying her daughter.

The girl, who stopped attending school because of the bullying, will return to school with a safety plan in place, with her parents no longer requesting a transfer, the ministry said.

Facebook user Ni Yin had posted about a series of alleged bullying incidents that happened over several months, resulting in her nine-year-old daughter requesting to stop attending school.

Her post on Aug 14 was accompanied by an audio recording of threats against her and her family, which was sent on July 26, after she had filed a complaint with the school.

Given the severity of the allegations, MOE said in a Facebook post on Aug 20 that it would make public the facts.

It said that each time an incident was reported, the school addressed it promptly and took firm disciplinary action "while seeking to restore friendships and help the children to learn and grow".