River Valley Primary pupil hit in face an accident, says principal, after viral clip claims assault

SINGAPORE – An incident in which a River Valley Primary School pupil allegedly hit a schoolmate in the face was actually an accident, not assault as claimed on social media, said the school’s principal.

In response to queries, Mrs Jennifer Pang said on Oct 8 that the school’s investigations established that the incident was an accident which also involved a third pupil.

The incident took place during recess on Oct 6, she explained.

Pupil A was identified in a TikTok video – which had been filmed by pupil B’s father – as having “punched” pupil B after stealing his wallet. Pupil A had indeed taken the other pupil’s wallet and snack.

Pupil B then got his friend, pupil C, to join him in chasing pupil A around the canteen, “during which student C accidentally hit student B’s lips with the wallet during the tussle”, said Mrs Pang.

She added that pupil A did not punch pupil B as alleged in the TikTok video, which had gone viral and amassed more than 32,000 likes since being posted on Oct 7.

In the video, which features a boy and a woman in what appears to be a hospital, a man is heard off camera saying that his son had his wallet and snack taken away from him by a schoolmate.

This schoolmate had also punched his son, said the man, with the roughly two-minute clip ending with a photo of his son’s bruised lips.

Said Mrs Pang: “The school will help the students learn from the incident and work towards a positive resolution of the matter.

“Meanwhile, the school is also in the process of engaging the parents of all students involved, to share what had transpired during the recess incident so that they can monitor their children’s well-being.”

Bullying in schools was most recently cast in the spotlight in August, when

three pupils from Sengkang Green Primary School

were suspended for bullying a classmate, which included sending death threats to the girl’s mother.

One of the three had also been caned, with the school putting in place a safety plan for the girl, who had stopped attending school because of the bullying.

In February, then Education Minister Chan Chun Sing said in Parliament that his ministry takes a serious view of any act of bullying or violence.

Parents should

leave it to the respective schools

and the authorities to handle such cases, he said, adding that they should avoid speculating or stepping in, as doing so complicates matters.

Mr Chan previously said in October 2024 that the

average number of bullying incidents had held steady

, with there being an annual average of two incidents of bullying in primary schools, and six in secondary schools, for every 1,000 students. These incidents cover all forms of bullying, both inside and outside schools.