Students in Gwangju bullying case face criminal punishment

A student accused of beating a 14-year-old boy who later committed suicide in the southwestern city of Gwangju last month is expected to face legal action, as the police have decided to take tougher measures against school violence.
The boy is believed to have killed himself after being brutally bullied by his peers.

The Gwangju Police said that they will issue an arrest warrant for a 15-year-old middle school student on charges of assaulting the victim and other students and taking money from them. They also booked two other students who also bullied the boy on the same charges.

According to the police, the boy attacked his peers and robbed them of money in a total of 46 incidents from November 2010 until last month.

He regularly ordered other students to buy cigarettes, taking a total of 328,000 won ($300) from them, the police said.

Students’ statements show that they were under immense stress, having been victimized by the boy for such a long period of time.

The police also suspect the school tried to conceal the suicide as they have been passive in dealing with school bullying and started the winter break a day earlier than usual.

By Lee Woo-yong  (wylee@heraldcorp.com)