GEORGE TOWN, June 16 — The people must discard the ‘don’t care’ mentality if they come across or know of any bullying incidents that occur around them, said Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan.
As such, he urged the public to immediately lodge reports to the authorities if they had any information of such cases.
“The Education Ministry will not tolerate bullying but as soon the students leave the school vicinity and do something out there, the teachers cannot keep an eye on them,” he told reporters after handing over and visiting the new Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) Ramakrishna building here today.
Describing the assault that led to the death of bully victim T.Nhaveen, 18, as extreme, he said the perpetrators should be subjected to appropriate legal action.
In the incident early Saturday morning, Nhaveen and his friend T.Previin were allegedly bullied and beaten with crash helmets by a group of teenagers while buying burgers.
He was found unconscious with serious injuries and burns on his back and having a blunt object shoved into his anus and died yesterday afternoon. Previn, 18, is being treated at the Penang hospital for fractured bone beneath his right eye.
In connection with the incident, police arrested five teenage boys, aged between 16 and 18 years, to facilitate investigation into the case.
Meanwhile Kamalanathan said the new school built with an allocation of RM4.7 million has 12 classrooms that can accommodate 260 students and several other facilities such as science labs. — Bernama
