The principal of a Kaohsiung high school is to be disciplined for poorly handling a bullying incident allegedly involving students at his school, the Kaohsiung City Government said in response to a video of the incident sparking public outrage.
The 56-second video was on Wednesday uploaded to a Facebook group for residents of the city’s Fongshan District (鳳山), showing a female high school student dressed in black surrounded by nine other students.
It shows the nine students slapping her in the face and pouring liquid over her head. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) on Thursday said that the city’s Education Bureau was investigating the incident, and police had identified some of the students involved.
A team of investigators led by the bureau’s deputy director Chen Pei-ju (陳佩汝) on Friday said that the school had mishandled the incident, as it failed to investigate and report it, and did not adequately communicate with parents.
The bureau in a statement said that the school’s failure to report the incident had prevented Kaohsiung agencies from offering assistance to the victim.
The school’s principal would be given a major demerit, and financial assistance to the school would be reduced, it said.
The bureau has also instructed the school’s board of directors to hold a meeting on whether the principal and other school officials are fit to remain in their positions, and to report on its findings, it said.
The Kaohsiung Police Department on Thursday said they found that the video was shot at the Fongshan Women’s Center on Jan. 22.
The investigation is focused on five suspects — two students who allegedly struck the victim and three who poured liquid on her — the department said, adding that the victim and her father filed charges against the suspects.
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