Game of ‘Monkey’: RI Students Accused of Bullying Primary School Pupil Were Only Playing, Says School

PHOTO: Screengrab from Singapore Incidents video

Just a game, or something else? A group of Raffles Institution (RI) students were accused of bullying after a video of them throwing around a primary school pupil’s shoe went viral.

However, school authorities have clarified that what the video captured was simply a game of catch between the two groups of students.

The incident happened on July 28, Shin Min Daily News reported, at a playground near Junction 8 mall in Bishan.

The netizen who captured footage of the incident claimed that the group of RI students were rowdy and had not only disturbed a group of Raffles Girls’ School students but had also bullied a boy younger than them.

Based on footage published by Singapore Incidents, Shin Min reported that four RI students were seen surrounding a boy and throwing a shoe amongst them as the boy runs back and forth in an attempt to catch the shoe.

The netizen pointed out that he’d heard the boy calling for the shoe to be returned to him, but the students continued with the game until later on when the boy eventually got his shoe back.

When interviewed, a spokesperson for Raffles Institution stated that they have since investigated the case and determined that the four students were not bullying the primary school pupil.

The school explained that there were two groups playing in the area at the time — a group of primary school pupils as well as the four RI students. Later, both groups decided to play a game of “monkey”, which was what the video captured.

The spokeperson stated they’d also spoken to representatives from the primary school, with the conclusion that it was not a bullying incident.

The spokesperson clarified that the RI students were not bothering the Raffles Girls’ School students as described, but had approached them as they found them familiar.

The school authorities emphasised that they take a zero-tolerance attitude towards bullying and that they would not hesitate to punish students severely in the event of such incidents.

This article was first published on AsiaOne and republished on theAsianparent with permission.

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