Grabbing their peers' posteriors for a laugh, vandalising school and public properties, vaping and brawling were allegedly par for the course for the teens in the 2023 bullying video that has been making the rounds.
In the TikTok video that was uploaded on Sept 15 but has since been removed, at least five teenagers who appear to be wearing Bukit View Secondary School uniform are seen surrounding a smaller boy with a backpack at the void deck of a Housing Board flat.
The teens appear to be laughing at the boy before one of them grabs the his backpack and kicks him in the back, sending him sprawling to the ground.
Unfortunately, the bullying seen in the video was allegedly common for the teens in the video.
"They would even threaten or insult the teachers," their ex-schoolmate told TNP.
"They also got into fights outside school and bullied others in real life as well as online, sending sexually explicit stickers over WhatsApp."
Although he felt sorry for the victims, the teen who was in the same cohort as the bullies was too scared to intervene.
"I am sure for many of us, it felt like a survival game every day in school," he said.
[[nid:701700]]
The video brought back painful memories for 19-year-old student Guo, who was verbally abused in school.
"My classmates in secondary school would call me in a tone that seemed to amuse them," Guo told TNP.
"It got even more demoralising when people I considered close friends joined them in taunting me. I felt alone, with nobody to trust.
"It was hard to focus on my studies because I was busy trying to avoid them. There was a lot of anxiety and fear, not knowing when I would get picked on next."
A Redditor commented on the bullying video: "I can't imagine how helpless and frightened the victim must have felt. Nothing the victim did should have warranted that kind of violence. We're not just looking at potential back injury, but also life-long mental trauma."
This sentiment is echoed by Connections MindHealth medical director and psychiatrist Jared Ng, who stressed on the "profound scars" bullying has on the victim.
"In the short term, victims often experience feelings of fear, shame and isolation," he explained. "These feelings can lead to depression, anxiety and withdrawal from social situations."
"Anxiety disorders, depression and trust issues" are just some of the psychological impacts of bullying in the long run. Victims often struggle to establish healthy relationships later in life.
Although schools have anti-bullying frameworks, Dr Ng stressed on the importance of "constant follow-up and improvements" of the frameworks to continually protect the students.
He added that accessible and open communication must be maintained between the school and the students to foster trust and for the students to feel safe to share any concerns they have.
The Straits Times reported that Bukit View Secondary School principal Jaswant Singh as saying the incident took place in October 2023 outside the school's premises. It was not reported to the school at the time.
He added that the school immediately checked on the victim following the circulation of the video. The victim did not report any injuries at the time.
"The school takes a serious view of such misbehaviour and will counsel the students involved as well as mete out disciplinary actions where appropriate," said Singh, adding that a police report was lodged by the victim's parents.
The police confirmed that a report was lodged and investigations are ongoing.
This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.
