Seven girls arrested after beating female student in Kota Kinabalu

KOTA KINABALU - Six female students and a former student from a secondary school in Inanam here were arrested by the police after a video of them beating up another student went viral on social media on Friday night.

The girls, aged between 13 and 17, were arrested at 11.52pm at Kota Kinabalu Police Headquarters (IPD) after a police report was lodged by the victim's father.

Kota Kinabalu District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Zaidi Abdullah said the police opened an investigation paper regarding the incident after the report was lodged.

"A total of six students from the same school and also a 17-year-old teenager who is also a former student of the school were detained to assist in the investigation of the case.

"The case is being investigated under Section 147 of the Penal Code," he said in a statement on Saturday.

Mohd Zaidi stressed that the police took the case seriously and would not compromise on any form of bullying and or violence involving school students in the district.

"Kota Kinabalu Police would also like to advise the public not to arbitrarily upload any video footage that could cause unrest among the community before obtaining confirmation from the authorities," he said.

A 21-second video which had gone viral on WhatsApp and Facebook showed a group of teenage girls beating up another teenage girl in an open area.

The action of a group of teenage girls punching and kicking the students involved also received criticism from the social media users.