Meridian Sec schoolgirl beaten up by bullies, eardrum ruptured

A secondary one pupil from Meridian Secondary School suffered a ruptured right eardrum after she was assaulted by her schoolmates.

The incident occurred during the students’ lunch break on Oct 3, when an older female student asked to talk to the victim at the void deck of Block 541, Pasir Ris Street 51, which is near the school, reported Lianhe Zaobao.

The girl arrived to find six people - four boys and two girls - waiting for her. Under the boys’ instructions, the two female students proceeded to beat and slap her for nearly 20 minutes. The beating only ended after a passer-by called the police, reported the Chinese morning daily.

The victim’s father Zhou Yueliang (transliteration) told Zaobao that there were nine other bystanders at the scene.

The 53-year-old taxi driver added that after passers-by called the police, his daughter was conveyed to KK Women's and Children's Hospital for treatment by Singapore Civil Defence Force personnel. He was informed of the incident by the police.

Zhou said that when he saw his daughter after the assault, her eyes and neck were bruised, and she kept telling him her right ear hurt and she could not hear clearly.

The doctor cleared the girl to be discharged on the same day and suggested Zhou continue to observe her condition, he brought her back home, he explained.

At about 10:30am the next morning, while the father-daughter pair was en route to the hospital for a follow-up appointment, an unknown liquid suddenly flowed out of the girl’s right ear. An X-ray at the hospital revealed that her right eardrum had ruptured, said Zhou.

While most of the girl's wounds have since healed, she has yet to recover her hearing.

Zhou said he plans to pursue legal action against the students after police investigations conclude.

Police report lodged

Principal of Meridian Secondary School Mohamed Razali B Abdul Hamed told Lianhe Zaobao that the school is aware of the incident. The school noted that a police report was made and said it will assist with investigations.

He said that during the incident, a student suffered an ear injury after a conflict with two other students.

"The school has been paying close attention to the condition of the injured student and has taken disciplinary action against the students involved, including bystanders at the scene," said Razali.

Responding to AsiaOne’s enquiries, the police confirmed that a report has been lodged on the matter and said that the case is still under investigation.

ALSO READ: Video of boys hitting primary school pupil circulates, police investigating

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com