THE deaths of two students in June brought to the fore the issue of bullying in school.

The deaths of 18-year-old T. Nhaveen and navy cadet officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain received wide media coverage and were the subject of much debate on social media nationally and internationally, where many questioned the mental health of society, especially its youth.

Nhaveen was viciously assaulted by a group of youths in Jalan Kaki Bukit, George Town, Penang, which led to brain death. He died in intensive care of Penang Hospital without coming out of a coma.

His friend, T. Previin, 19, was beaten with motorcycle helmets but managed to escape and summon help.

Following police investigation, four youths, among them Form Four and Five students, were charged with murder on December 6. The court set January 11 for case management.

Zulfarhan, 21, died after he was apparently tortured and beaten, allegedly by his university mates  who had accused him of stealing a laptop.

The third-year electrical engineering student died at the Serdang Hospital with bruises and burn marks on his chest, hands and feet, believed to have been inflicted with an electric iron.

Thirty-six Universiti Pertanian Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) and Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten) students were detained to help in police investigations, and 19 UPNM students were charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder,  and causing hurt.

The trial is to take place 14 days afterJanuary 29.

In a third reported case of bullying, six Form Two boys of Parit Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) in Perak were bullied by 10 senior students for refusing to lend them their football boots. 

The case ended in expulsion for the 10 bullies, who were aged 15 and 16.

The deaths of two Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) personnel at the Sungai Wangi detention unit of the RMN, apparently due to bullying,  showed that abuse was not confined to schools and tertiary institutions.

According to the post-mortem reports, Muhammad Baihaqy Nik Mat, 28, and Muhammad Lailatuliman Mohd Sukri, 26, died due to bleeding in the lungs caused by blunt force.

On November 24, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the government was introducing four measures to curb bullying. The decision was reached at a meeting of the National Social Council which he chairs.

The measures are classification of data which meets the definition of bullying; effective collaboration to provide for integrated social intervention by the state education and social welfare departments, National Population and Family Development Board, and the police; discussion of the social agenda at state action committee and district action committee meetings; and the identification of corporate bodies and NGOs as anti-bullying agents on social media. – Bernama, December 24, 2017.