The Korea Herald

소아쌤

Police seek arrest warrants for teenagers for bullying peers

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Published : Jan. 9, 2012 - 16:52

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Police said Monday they have requested an arrest warrant for a middle school student on charges of habitually assaulting a classmate and extorting money from him, some two weeks after the victim committed suicide.

On Dec. 29, the 14-year-old was found hanged in an apartment building in Gwangju, some 330 kilometers south of Seoul, in an apparent suicide after being brutally bullied by his classmates.

The 14-year-old suspected bully, identified only by his surname Lee, allegedly beat the victim and extorted money dozens of times over some eight months, according to the Gwangju Bukbu Police Station. He is also suspected of habitually bullying nine other classmates over the past year, the police added.

"We will also investigate two other accomplices suspected of assaulting the victim," an officer in charge of the case said.

Meanwhile, another 15-year-old middle school student in Seoul was arrested on Monday for detaining and assaulting juniors at his school after they failed to follow his order to extort "enough money" from other peers, according to the Seoul Mapo Police Station.

After being scolded by one of the victim's parents, the adolescent suspect, surnamed Park, allegedly attacked a close friend of the victim in revenge, the investigators added. 

"Despite his young age, we decided to seek an arrest warrant for him considering the seriousness of his crime and the strong demand for his detention from the victims," an officer of the police station said.

Authorities have vowed to step up efforts to eradicate school violence by putting behind bars serious adolescent offenders rather than lightly punishing them, in the wake of a series of recent suicides by young students who had been bullied. (Yonhap News)

 

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'돈셔틀' 강요ㆍ감금폭행한 마포 중학생 구속



서울 마포경찰서는 하급생에게 돈을 빼앗아 오라고 지시하고 액수가 만족스럽지 않으면 이들을 집단 감금ㆍ폭행한 혐의(폭처법상 공동폭행 등)로 마포구 한 중학교에 재학 중인 박모(15)군을 구속했다고 9일 밝혔다 .

경찰에 따르면 박군은 피해학생인 A군의 부모로부터 꾸지람을 듣고 난 뒤 A군의 친한 친구를 불러내 "어른들 하나도 무서울 것 없다. A 때문에 네가 맞는 거다. 밤길 조심해라"고 겁을 주며 보복 폭행하기도 했다.

경찰은 "가해자가 만 14세의 어린 나이이기는 하지만 학교폭력 사건의 중대성과 심각성, 피해학생과 부모가 강력한 처벌을 요구하는 점을 고려했다"고 영장 신청 사 유를 밝혔다.

경찰은 박군 이외에도 이 학교 2∼3학년 학생 10명을 붙잡아 조사중이다.

경찰은 "이 학교에 '00팸'이라는 이름의 일진회가 있는 것을 확인했고 구성원도 거의 확인했다. 범법행위가 있으면 사법 처리하고 학교에도 수사결과를 통보하겠다"고 밝혔다.

또 "지금까지 피해자가 학교를 떠나야 했던 것과 달리 이번에는 일진회를 완전 히 해체하고 가해자들이 처벌을 받고 학교를 떠나도록 하겠다"고 강경 수사 방침을 밝혔다.