MOE Responds to Reports of Teen Who Was Bullied in School & Even Attempted Suicide

By
Ashley Seek
-

Every action has a consequence.

And by extension, bullying is something that should be taken seriously.

While the act may seem off-handed at a glance, it could drive the victim to take drastic actions.

MOE Responds to Reports of Teen Who Was Bullied in School & Even Attempted Suicide

Previously, Mothership reported that a lower-secondary school girl had been viciously bullied from her schoolmates.

It got to the point where she attempted suicide.

She started secondary school in January 2019 and some classmates noticed that she had learning disabilities.

The victim was 13 years old at the time, and the bullying began not long after that.

Instances Of Bullying

An Instagram story of a Tellonym post has been revealed, insulting the girl and saying that she should kill herself.

Tellonym is an online platform that works like ask.fm, whereby people gets feedback and support anonymously.

This occurred in March 2019.

Do take note that the following image contains strong and abusive language.

Image: Facebook (May Tan)

The victim reported the matter to a teacher.

However, in a statement from the school in February this year, they allegedly denied having knowledge about it.

The bullying also escalated to physical violence slowly after the post.

TODAYonline reported that a boy threw a pack of biscuits at the victim, causing her lips to bleed.

Others insulted the way she looked.

When the girl reported the matter, she once again got no response.

A few months later another boy touched her face and hit her head. He also tried to kick her between the legs.

The issue was once again brought up and the school’s discipline master got involved. However, he allegedly stated it wasn’t appropriate to tackle the situation, and that this bully’s father had just passed away.

When her parent’s questioned the school, they responded by saying these were pranks and acts of mischief.

In February this year, another boy insulted her for her dyslexia (language learning disorder) while another Tellonym post emerged, telling her to quit her sport.

Tried To Commit Suicide

The victim’s parents said that the bullying cases had greatly traumatised her.

As the school could not find the person behind the Tellonym post, she went to school with a lot of anxiety as to who it might be.

She couldn’t sleep properly, could not trust others and feared going to school.

Thankfully, during the circuit breaker, which began in April, her condition slowly improved as schools had implemented home-based learning, and the victim did not have to face her oppressors.

Sadly, her fears returned when it was announced on 21 May that face-to-face lessons would resume.

The victim tried to overdose on panadol a few days later in an attempted suicide.

Her parents quickly discovered this and rushed her to a hospital, where she was warded for 12 days and given four weeks of medical leave.

Throughout the incidents, her parents have expressed their anger and disappointment at the school’s inaction and ability to handle the bullying.

“We really lost our child to bullying and violence.”

Sent A Letter To PM Lee

More details of the bullying were written in her letter addressed to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on 10 December.

The letter has since gone viral online.

“I tried to be brave and reported the bullying incidents, thinking the school will do something.

“When I returned to school in January this year, I realised that nothing had changed.”

She also said that she wrote to the school counsellor, saying that she felt like jumping to her death and had thoughts of self-harm.

You can read the letter here:

With such allegations by the student and parents, you can bet that the school has to respond.

Well, the school hasn’t commented publicly, but MOE has responded.

Response From MOE

The Ministry of Education reached out to the family this week after taking notice of the letter.

They said the school had noticed the concerns raised and sent a “firm warning” to students, warning against bullying.

MOE also said that the victim was “brave” to voice out her experience.

However, both the parents and the girl were not satisfied with the ministry’s response. While the school’s principal had claimed that they did not tolerate bullying, minimal action was still taken.

Ms Liew Wei Li, the director of schools at MOE, claimed that a lapse of communication caused the initial Tellonym post to not be addressed when initially reported.

She said that the school has since done a follow-up investigation.

The other incidents of bullying have since been tackled and stopped, according to Ms Liew.

However, she also says that the school has been informed that the earlier lapse was “unacceptable” and needed to be followed up better.

Currently, the victim has transferred schools and has sought help from a psychologist and psychiatrist.

Featured Image: TheVisualsYouNeed / Shutterstock.com & Facebook (May Tan) (Image is for illustration purpose only)

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Ashley Seek
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