In the early afternoon of September 26, 15-year-old Xiaoyu (pseudonym) found herself surrounded by five classmates in the dormitories of Shenzhen Zhongjia Vocational Technical School, in Longgang District. Accusations turned into action when one classmate, a girl on the chubby side, lashed out.
As Xiaoyu recalled, she “slapped me on the face, kicked me, kicked me everywhere, even grabbed my hair.” Two of the girls began attacking Xiaoyu as well, while the other two stood by and watched.
After about an hour of this, Xiaoyu was finally able to escape their clutches, though not without injuries. Her body was covered in bruises, blood vessels in her left eye had broken, and she may have a fractured bone in one ankle. She’s currently being treated in Longgang Center Hospital, while local police continue to investigate the incident.
According to Xiaoyu’s mother, Mrs. Zheng, her daughter entered the Zhongjia Vocational Technical School this year, near the end of August. She’s currently a high school freshman.
The school offers dormitories for those who live far away, but since Xiaoyu lives in the area, she goes home every night. Mr. Cheng, Xiaoyu’s father, said that he and his wife settled on this arrangement because they wanted to see their daughter every day.
Although she lives nearby, Xiaoyu eats lunch at school and sometimes spends the rest of her afternoon break relaxing in the school dorms. According to her, she was doing just that around 12.30pm on the 26th, when she was approached by the bullies.
Although all five girls were in her class, Xiaoyu says she doesn’t know them very well. They cornered her and accused her of stealing money and contact lenses, as well as shoplifting.
At first Xiaoyu denied stealing anything, although she admitted to taking items from stores without paying.
This wasn’t enough to satisfy the other girls. Three of them began attacking her while the other two watched. They wouldn’t let her leave the room for about an hour.
As the time to resume classes approached, the girls let up on their beating and allowed Xiaoyu to go downstairs. Xiaoyu claimed that her stomach hurt and was able to go to the bathroom, where she quickly called her mother, who was at work nearby.
Zheng said she received the call for help around 2pm: “Mom, I was beaten up.”
Zheng immediately contacted her husband, who also works in the area. The two of them drove to their daughter’s school. Along the way Zheng attempted to call Xiaoyu’s phone, but no one picked up.
The worried parents got to the school, but it was another half hour until they could see their daughter. It turned out that after she came out of the bathroom, Xiaoyu had her phone confiscated by the other girls. They dragged her by her collar over to the school’s underground parking lot and threw her onto the ground.
More beating would probably have commenced then if Zheng hadn’t happened to call at the right moment. Alerted to their situation, the girls let Xiaoyu go.
Finally, Zheng and Cheng were reunited with their injured daughter. After bringing her to Baolong police station to file a report, they took her to the hospital.
On the night of the 26th, a reporter for Southern Metropolis Daily found that Xiaoyu’s injuries were still hurting: she walked with a noticeable limp and red spots were visible in her left eye, where the blood vessels had burst.
Xiaoyu’s parents believe the bullies’ claims about their daughter were false. Zheng says she and her husband have done well for themselves since coming to Shenzhen in 1993. They’ve opened a factory and given their daughter allowance money freely: “she 100 percent didn’t steal money.”
As for the claim of shoplifting, she says her daughter can be careless sometimes and suspects she simply forgot to pay. Cheng added that Xiaoyu was a very well-behaved girl.
The principal of the school, whose last name is Shi, said that Xiaoyu has admitted to stealing a total of RMB60 from others. Shi also stated, however, that no matter the circumstances the beating was unwarranted. As both the attackers and the attacked were minors, the incident is being dealt with by both the police and the school.
According to Principal Shi, a few parents of the bullies have already gone to Xiaoyu’s hospital to express their regrets. Zheng said, though, that only one parent has showed up and that he or she didn’t make a clear apology.
As for Xiaoyu, when asked if she can face continuing her studies alongside the students who attacked her, she responded: “I can’t.”
[Images via Southern Metropolis Daily]
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