A Teen Was Beaten Up Until His Bones Were Broken But The Culprits Remain Free
The victim tried to hide the matter from his family initially.
By Tang Ruxyn — 24 Jan 2017, 01:55 PM
A teenager has been in and out of the hospital after he was bullied by other students in his school. While he suffers physically and emotionally, the bullies - about 20 of them - have yet to face any kind of consequences for their actions.
Muhammad Syazwan Zolkifle a student at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Sri Pantai in Kuala Lumpur suffered broken bones and lost control of his bowel movements after he was beaten up by a group of students.
The 15-year-old has been making regular trips to the University Malaya Medical Centre to get treatment for the injuries sustained from the incident.
The incident happened in September last year but Syazwan kept mum about what he went through until his family confronted him
According to Syazwan's sister, Norsyahirah Zolkifle, Syazwan had tried to hide the matter from his family until they noticed that he was suffering from lower abdominal pain.
“He has always been a quiet boy and he didn’t tell any of us what happened to him."
"But I noticed that he seemed to be in a lot of pain and confronted him about it. That is when he finally told the truth and we immediately filed a police report. That was in November," she was quoted as saying by FMT.
Norsyahirah added that one of the families of the bullies had apparently offered her money to "settle the case"
"They offered RM2,000 as compensation. I refused because it does not commensurate with what my brother is going through, and we still don't know if this has a long-term effect."
It is said that Syazwan has been seeking medical treatment since November while the suspect is still attending school.
"I am most disappointed that police have decided to close the investigations because the suspect is underaged," she was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.
Speaking to reporters about the matter, Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, has expressed disappointment with the Education Ministry's inaction over the alleged bullying case
"I am disappointed that we have no response from the Education Ministry. The school authorities are supposed to be at the forefront in combating bullying incidents in schools. However, they are forced to close this bullying case just to protect the school's image," she said, adding that she has sent a letter to the ministry about the matter.
The PKR vice-president said that strict action should be taken against the culprit(s) and the school's administration for failing to take appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the students.
"Schools are supposed to be a place where parents can feel safe about sending their children," she told reporters yesterday, 23 January.
"Apparently, taking care of the school's image is more important to this school than ensuring that a safe environment exists."
However, the police have disputed claims that the case is closed, and said that investigations are still ongoing
Brickfields district police chief Sharul Othman Mansor confirmed that the case is still being investigated and that the police are still gathering related evidences.
"The investigations are going on and the investigation officer is still trying to locate witnesses to record their statements on the case," he reportedly said.
It was reported that three Form 2 students from the school were supposed to be remanded for four days starting 25 November last year, but they were released on the same day.
Sharul said that the police had received orders to release the students from the district Criminal Investigation Department (CID) chief following conclusion of investigations.