School Bullying Going Mobile
Delinquent Kids Text-Messaged Threats to Classmate for Protection Money
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
School bullying is now going mobile.
A group of elementary school students in a provincial city texted threats to a classmate, getting “protection” money on a regular basis. The extortion went on for 10 months before the bullies were caught by police.
According to law enforcement authorities in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, four 12-year-old boys threatened a classmate, identified by his surname, Kim, and extorted 10,000 to 20,000 won every week since last December.
After the mother of the victim noticed that money was missing from a cash box at her shop, she questioned her son. The son confessed, telling his mother he was being pressured by his classmates. She reported it to the police last Wednesday.
A police official said the bullies threatened Kim when he failed to deliver the money on time, sending him threats in text messages. In one message, they said, “You know what will happen, if you fail to give me 60,000 won again tomorrow?”
Another said, “Put money into my locker during the recess after the first class. Otherwise, I will disclose your secret.” The secret was that the victim stole the money from his mother.
“I thought it was okay because other students do it. We bought snacks with the money,” a boy was quoted by police as saying.
Although it plans to discipline the children, the school appeared to be downplaying the incident, saying it is nothing out of the ordinary. “There was no violence involved and this kind of case often occurs at schools,” said a school official.
The mother is complaining that the school is not dealing with the case properly. “I am angry when I think of how my son was suffering from stress for several months. My child showed strange behavior. He asked me to draw the curtain when sleeping, saying he didn’t want other people in his room and sometimes couldn’t sleep alone,” she said.
The police are considering sending the bullies to the juvenile detention center.
The case was revealed at a time when school bullying and violence is showing no signs of abating, often being considered as an unavoidable part of school life.
According to the Korean Statistical Information Service, one out of every eight students said they experienced violence from their classmates, with 25 percent saying they didn’t tell anybody about the physical problems.