SINGAPORE – 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”.
The ministry added that the girl had herself engaged in “hurtful behaviour” on some occasions – including the use of offensive and racial slurs – and the school had handled such incidents fairly.
The boys were immediately suspended after they were found to have made prank calls to the girl’s mother, with one of them found to have sent the threats, MOE said. The school will take further disciplinary actions, including caning, and work with their parents so that the boys can learn from their actions.
MOE added that the school engaged the parents of the pupils involved on different occasions and told them of the actions taken, including the safety plan for the girl.
A meeting for Aug 18 had been arranged on Aug 14 between the school and the girl’s parents, but the mother alleged on Facebook before the meeting that the school did not take any action.
In the audio recording accompanying the Facebook post, a person can be heard shouting expletives, before saying: “I might dissect her. I might dissect her into pieces like you. So which one do you want me to do? Dissect her? Or end her life in school?
“Choose one. Either don’t want one, I will kill you instead and your husband.”
Following the threats, Ms Ni Yin said she filed a police report and informed the school, MOE and her Member of Parliament to ensure they paid attention to the issue.
The police confirmed that a report was lodged and are looking into the matter.
In the Facebook post on Aug 14, Ms Ni Yin detailed the various instances of bullying her daughter faced, accompanied by an audio recording of threats levelled against her and her family.
PHOTO: NI YIN/FACEBOOK
MOE said the Aug 18 meeting took place over four hours, with the school going through the sequence of events with the girl’s parents, including the girl’s behaviour.
“The parents agreed to work with the school to have their child return to the current school with the enhanced safety plan in place, without further request for a school transfer,” it said.
The Straits Times has contacted Ms Ni Yin for more information.
The ministry added: “MOE and schools take a firm stand against bullying and hurtful behaviour. We understand the anxieties of parents whose children may be affected by hurtful behaviour, and we urge parents to work closely with the school to support their child’s well-being.
“When parents choose to publicise a dramatised, one-sided account on social media, it causes further emotional distress for their children and hinders the school’s efforts to rehabilitate and reconcile.”
In this particular case, it also resulted in online attacks and doxxing of teachers and children, which the ministry said were bullying behaviours and sent the wrong message to children.
The issue of bullying cases in schools was spotlighted in February, when then Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in Parliament that his ministry takes a serious view of any act of bullying or violence.
He said that
parents should leave it to the respective schools
and the authorities to handle such cases without speculating or stepping in, which complicates matters.
Previously, he said in October 2024 that the
average number of bullying incidents had held steady
. For every 1,000 students, there is an annual average of two incidents of bullying in primary schools, and six in secondary schools.
These incidents cover all forms of bullying, whether it occurs in or outside school.
There has been a series of squabbling and verbal exchanges among the pupils involved, said MOE.
End-April: The girl reported Pupil A for using an offensive slur on her and another classmate. As the girl had also used an offensive slur on Pupil A, the form teacher asked both pupils to apologise to each other for using bad language.
Mid-July: The girl asked her form teacher to change her seat. The teacher decided to monitor the situation first, as he observed that the girl was talking and laughing with Pupils A and B.
July 25: The girl asked her form teacher again to change her seat, as Pupils A and B’s chatter made it difficult for her to focus during lessons. She added that the two pupils used inappropriate language on her, and that Pupil C touched her face without consent. As she admitted to using inappropriate language on Pupils A and B, the three pupils were told to apologise to one another and focus on mending their friendship.
Later that day, the form teacher informed the girl that he had informed her parent and would change her seat the following Monday. He would also look into her feedback about Pupil C.
July 26: The girl’s mother reported to the school that she had received prank calls and death threats.
July 28: The school pulled the three boys from class. Based on the school’s checks, Pupil A obtained the mobile number from his parent. The trio made multiple prank calls to the girl’s parent, with Pupil C sending audio messages threatening the parent and her family. The school reprimanded all three pupils and informed their parents that they would be suspended from school immediately.
That same morning, the vice-principal met the girl’s parents to inform them about the actions taken by the school, including changing her seat to separate her from the three pupils, and plans to conduct bag checks after they served their suspension. The vice-principal also spoke to the girl’s parents on the telephone in the evening to share plans to assign peers to accompany the girl in school.
As the girl’s parents had made a police report on the death threats, the school assured them that the school would review and take additional disciplinary actions, which may include caning, after the police looked into the matter.
July 30: The girl informed the form teacher that a classmate sprayed water on her. Investigations by the teacher established that this was after the girl used hurtful words on the classmate, including a racial slur to a classmate of another race, and telling others not to befriend the classmate. The classmate then sprayed water in retaliation. Both were counselled for their actions. The classmate’s parent was informed of the incident, and the school planned to share this with the girl’s parents at a face-to-face meeting.
July 31: The safety plan was sent via e-mail to the parents.
Aug 7: The school was informed of a bruise on the girl. The school established that Pupil C swung his bag into the girl during school dismissal. CCTV footage showed that the teacher present was managing another group of pupils and did not witness the incident, and no pupil approached the teacher to alert him to the incident. Following investigations, the school engaged Pupil C’s parents.
Aug 12: Pupil C was caned.
Aug 14: The school arranged to meet the girl’s parents on Aug 18 to update them on the actions taken and steps to support the girl’s return to school.
Aug 15, Aug 16: The parent made her allegations on social media.
