When hundreds of angry parents protested for the second time about a local 13-year old girl being bullied and physically abused by her peers, the police swooped in to suppress the activity. Three people were arrested and others were injured during the police crackdown.
A Zizhou Middle School student was harassed and abused by schoolmates on Nov. 18. Zizhou is located in Santai County, Sichuan Province, in southwest China.
The perpetrators recorded the entire incident and posted it online. The local police issued a notice about the event on the 20th, which caused the parents to protest that evening.
Ms. Zhang, one of the parents at the scene, told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times on Nov. 21 that the 13-year old girl was the bullies’ third victim.
“Everyone went to the police station to ask for an explanation. It was said that a second generation of police officers and the rich were involved. We want their parents to be held accountable,” she said.
Another parent, Mr. Wang, said that when the protest continued on the 21st, the local government dispatched a large number of police officers from the city.
“I am sure some very agitated parents were arrested,” he said, and the police closed the roads around the police station on the 21st.
Bullying Recorded
In the video, three girls surrounded the victim, slapped her, pulled her hair, and made her nose bleed, while two boys on the side watched and another girl recorded the events that went on for over 10 min.In the video, the perpetrators tell the girl being bullied she is not the only one getting a “lesson” and revealed the name of another of their victims. They warned the girl not to tell anyone what happened, saying, “It’s no use calling the police, we’re not adults.”
According to a police notice on the 20th the six teens involved in the case were aged between 13 and 15, have been arrested, the victim’s condition is not serious, and the investigation of the case is “unfolding in an orderly way.”
Zhang said the victim’s parents were divorced, and she lived with her peasant grandparents. According to Zhang, protestors encouraged the grandparents to not accept a settlement in private.
The Silenced Victims
The police issued a second notice on the 21st, the day after the first protest, while a second protest was occurring.
The second notice said the two 15-year olds received a 15-day detention and a fine of 1,000 yuan (about $140), the two 14-year olds were detained for 10 days and fined 500 yuan (about $70), and the two 13-year olds were admonished.
Zhang complained that the punishment stated in the notice was too light, “The girl’s life was ruined and shadowed. Her grandma told me that she’s very depressed, and would not dare to meet anyone or talk to anyone,” she said.
Zhang explained that there must have been tens of thousands of people who went to the police station during the two protests.
She said that the mother of another victim was also in the protest on the 20th. Ms. Liu told The Epoch Times that one of the perpetrators was also involved in the attack on her daughter.
“She was attacked in September. Her face and ears were bruised,” she said.
She called the police but her daughter would not say anything because the perpetrators told her not to call the police.
Liu said she spent a month trying to comfort her daughter who has been seriously traumatized. Now, the family escorts her to and from school.
“I know who hurt my daughter, but I can’t say [who it was]. I don’t plan to reveal this,” she said.
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