- Teenage Girl Assaulted By Female Classmates
- Viral Video Spark Widespread Reaction
- Culprit Placed in Corrective
A disturbing case of school bullying in southern China has sparked widespread anger and rare street protests after a video of a 14-year-old girl being physically assaulted by her schoolmates went viral.
Eko Hot Blog received that the incident occurred in Jiangyou, a city in Sichuan Province, where the teenager was seen in the video being slapped, kicked, and forced to kneel by three other girls aged 13, 14, and 15.
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The video, believed to have been recorded by the assailants themselves, triggered nationwide condemnation after surfacing online last week.
Police have confirmed that the three minors involved are all girls and that two of them have been placed in corrective education schools.
However, many citizens believe the punishment handed down is not nearly enough, especially after it emerged that the victim had reportedly been subjected to ongoing bullying for a considerable period.
More outrage followed when parts of the video revealed the attackers boasting about how previous visits to the police station ended with them being released within minutes.
One of the girls was heard saying she had been to the police station over ten times and walked free every time.
These remarks further fueled public concern about perceived loopholes in China’s juvenile justice system.
The victim’s mother, who is said to be hearing-impaired, has also been appealing for justice, drawing sympathy and anger from many netizens who say the system failed her daughter.
In response to the viral footage, over 1,000 people took to the streets of Jiangyou on Sunday, 4 August, demanding stronger action against the perpetrators.
Eyewitnesses told international media that the peaceful demonstration turned chaotic after police moved in using batons and electric stun devices to disperse the crowd.
Some protesters were seen being dragged and struck, with several videos online appearing to confirm these accounts.
A local shop owner who witnessed the protest described the situation as bloody saying it escalated after some in the crowd threw plastic bottles at officers.
“People were angry, but they were asking for justice, not violence,” he told reporters anonymously, citing police warnings not to speak to foreign journalists.
Authorities have since issued a second official statement denying widespread rumours that the girls involved are children of influential figures.
According to the police, the parents of the suspects include unemployed persons, a delivery driver, and a salesperson, with two others working outside the province.
Two individuals have also been penalised for spreading false information online, which officials said disrupted public order and “negatively impacted society.”
A lawyer based in Shanghai weighed in on the incident, saying it reflects deeper flaws in the country’s legal handling of juvenile crimes.
In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo, he criticised what he described as an imbalance in how the law treats minor offences and the trauma suffered by victims.
