Bullying, violence among students gain foothold in society

KUALA LUMPUR: Bullying and violence among students and teenagers should be kept in check as such culture is now gaining a foothold in society, says Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation senior vice-chairman Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye.
In expressing concern over the death of a seven-year-old boy in Kapit, Sarawak, two days after he was allegedly assaulted by a senior at a primary school's hostel, he urged the relevant authorities, schools, parents and other stakeholders to seriously view such recent incidents.
He said most minors were involved in crime because of negative peer influence, insufficient parental guidance, bad influence of the Internet and elements of gangsterism.
"These are worrying trends and have to be looked into by the relevant authorities and other segments of society in totality, in order to find an enduring solution.
"It's more disturbing when violent acts were committed by pupils in primary schools as previously, such cases involved older students," he said in a statement here today.

He was commenting on the case of seven-year-old Jackson Nuing Awe who died at the Sibu Hospital last Thursday, after he was believed to have been beaten up by his Year Six senior.
Lee said even though there was an overall reduction in index crime, violent crimes rose by 2.4% when 22,326 cases were reported last year as compared to 21,810 cases in 2015.
He suggested the government focus on the mental health aspect as it could also be one of the main reasons for such violence.
He said National Health and Morbidity Survey in 2015 showed that about 4.2 million Malaysians aged 16 years and above, or 29.2% of the population suffered from various mental problems and the number was alarming because it showed an increase of 11.2% as compared to 2006. — Bernama