Malaysia police probing school bullying case after video of beating went viral

Bad behaviour: Images from the screen grab of the clip showing a schoolgirl being brutally set upon by a group of female schoolmates. -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Bad behaviour: Images from the screen grab of the clip showing a schoolgirl being brutally set upon by a group of female schoolmates. -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Bad behaviour: Images from the screen grab of the clip showing a schoolgirl being brutally set upon by a group of female schoolmates. -- PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A video depicting a schoolgirl being brutally set upon by a group of female schoolmates has gone viral in Malaysia and is now the subject of police investigation.

The 77-second video clip is believed to have been recorded via a mobile phone.

The video clip begins with a group of about 10 girls loitering near a staircase where they are seen taking "selfies" and rather ironically, flashing "peace signs" to the camera.

It all seems rather innocuous before the immediate turn around.

The girls suddenly gang up and start attacking the victim who, based on the clip, was standing among the group.

The attackers proceeded to tear off the victim's headscarf in the attack. The girls were also seen dragging, kicking and pulling the victim's hair.

The victim was seen raising her hands to protect her face.

After the assault, the sobbing victim was left alone on the top of the staircase.

A male pupil was seen in the background observing but was not involved in the beating.

The video also showed a rude hand gesture from the student recording the clip, who referred to herself as a "pailang" (bad person in Hokkien).

She was seen holding the victim's hand tightly at the beginning of the video.

Although the video quality was blurry, the victim appeared to be in tears at the start of the recording, indicating that she may have been subject to verbal abuse before the beating took place.

None of the girls were seen to be wearing school emblems but are believed to be students from a school in Kota Samarahan, Sarawak.

A statement released by assistant chief inspector-general of police secretariat Asst Comm Datin Asmawati Ahmad in the Royal Malaysian Police's official Facebook page said the incident was believed to have taken place on April 25 this year.

A report was lodged on May 25 and an investigation is under way.

Furious netizens managed to trace the Facebook account of one of the attackers. But the profile has since been deactivated.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.