10 schoolgirls picked up following student’s assault

KOTA KINABALU: A 16-year-old student ended up being punched and kicked by 10 girls who were apparently upset that she had taken a picture with a boy, in Sabah’s east-coast Kunak district.

“One of the girls was not happy with the victim because she had posed for a picture with a boy during a Hari Raya gathering and posted it online,” Kunak police chief Supt Mohd Nasarruddin Nasir said.

The 10 girls, aged between 15 and 17, were picked up from three secondary schools yesterday as police began investigating the bullying case, which was seen in a video that went viral over the weekend.

According to Supt Mohd Nasarruddin, the incident occurred at a field in Kunak town last week.

“We are recording statements from the suspects and victim,” he said.

He added that police had called in the parents, as well as district education officials and parent-teacher association heads to discuss the incident as well as the appropriate steps to be taken.

A Sabah Education Department official said that they would leave the probe to the police and provide any help required.