Boarding school bullying: Ex-student reveals torturous punishments

KUALA LUMPUR - Reports have emerged of senior students inflicting extreme disciplinary actions on juniors at a boarding school, including forcing them to hold the commando rest position for two hours and compelling them to strip naked in groups.

These practices allegedly persist in a military-style boarding school located here.

In a particularly harrowing incident, one of the trainers reportedly jokingly forced students to dip their feet into a bucket of boiling water immediately after training.

Injuries on leg of a former student after being forced to soak it in hot water.

This resulted in some students sustaining second-degree burns, purportedly as a test of their physical endurance.

Adding to the toxic environment, the school is said to harbour underground 'legacy gangs' that recruit students into a culture of bullying as they ascend to Form Five.

A former student, Fakhrul, claimed he could no longer endure the oppression, humiliation and bullying from seniors, particularly being forced to perform the commando rest or 'head plank' exercise in extreme conditions.

He said that while the head plank was a mandatory punishment to discipline students and build mental strength, he never imagined being forced to perform it while repeatedly being kicked in the ribs by seniors.

He said these commands were illogical and could no longer be considered jokes but deliberate acts meant to harm or even kill him.

He claimed there were two categories of punishment: group punishments for a company of students or individual punishments.

"I was isolated and forced to be alone in the restroom, performing back support and the head plank. Not only that, my face was also submerged in a bucket of water while doing it, seemingly to make me drown.

"They also made me perform the 'tombstone' position while pressing and kicking my stomach with boots. I endured the pain for 40 minutes, and there were red marks on my body. The bruises took a long time to heal.

"It was extremely harsh—I’ve never experienced this level of bullying before. The seniors justified it by claiming I was disrespectful, but I never raised my voice to them. They just wanted an excuse to target me," he told Sinar recently.

Fakhrul recounted that during his months at the school, this was one of the most traumatic memories that stayed with him.

He felt the perception that the institution could discipline students was nothing more than empty talk.

However, he said he was once offered the privilege of becoming a rank candidate by Form Five seniors to carry on the bullying tradition but refused to follow their orders.

He added that rank candidates were considered Form Five successors and were given free rein to command juniors to engage in misconduct or punishments such as sit-ups, commando rest, squat jumps, hammer light and knuckle push-ups for a minimum of two hours on the tarmac.

"Every week, there would be a group on duty, usually Form Five students, but they would delegate the work to Form Four students. If they weren’t satisfied, they would impose punishments.

"I was very stressed during that time, with insufficient rest and sleep, which left me exhausted in class. My grades declined, and eventually, I left the school.

"My initial interest in this field vanished after entering the school. Now, I'm attending a regular day school and thankfully, life is much more peaceful,” he said.

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INFO:

Bullying at Boarding Schools

Types of Bullying

- Commando rest, also known as head planking.

- Squat jumps, hammer light, and knuckle push-ups for two hours on tarmac.

- Kicking and stomping on the stomach with boots.

- Midnight wakeups.

- Being caned on the buttocks with metal rods while naked.

Notorious Bully Gangs

- 6 Jahanam

- 6 Azazil

- 7 Malaikat Maut

Past Injuries

One reported bullying case occurred 14 years ago involving a 16-year-old student.

The victim was targeted by seniors since the start of the school year.

According to a police report, the student was allegedly beaten unconscious by seniors and taken to a medical centre.

On the night of the incident, around 10.40pm, the victim was reportedly forced to do push-ups while being kicked by seniors. The injuries were said to result from head trauma caused by repeated kicking.

Five students were detained and four were expelled. The school principal was also transferred following the incident.