The girls who belong to the school's music ensemble, believe that the victim (centre) had spread malicious gossip about them.
Slapped, stripped and filmed - and then extorted with threats of the video being posted on YouTube.
That's what is believed to have happened to Jane (not her real name), a Secondary 2 student two weeks ago.
A group of several older girls from the same CCA group in her school decided to teach her junior a lesson.
The "stripping and beating" episode is now the subject of police investigations. It may be a case of extreme "happy slapping" - a fad where an unsuspecting victim is attacked, while an accomplice records the assault on video.
The New Paper understands that in this incident, Jane had agreed to the "happy slapping form of punishment".
Slap-happy teens
"Happy Slapping" isn't restricted to slapping alone. It can refer to any type of assault.
The attack on the secondary school girl is not the first such incident here.
Last June, a group of teenagers kicked, slapped and punched a teenage girl, and forced her to take off her shirt, then tried to remove her shorts. The attack was filmed and circulated on the Internet.
Last January, three teenage boys molested a female schoolmate, and filmed the incident.
In 2003, a group of Sec 3 boys from a top boys' school beat up a peer and filmed the incident.
Happy Slapping is believed to have started in South London, in a format known as "Slap TV", where a happy slapping video would be recorded and broadcast.
SETTLE SCORES
The other students involved in the incident are all Sec 3 and 4 girls. They are members of the school's music ensemble. Jane is also one of its members.
Students from the school who spoke to The New Paper on condition of anonymity said that Jane had allegedly been spreading malicious gossip about her seniors.
The group of six or seven seniors decided that Jane should "settle scores" with them. They summoned her and demanded that she accept their terms. It is understood that Jane agreed.
The group met at a place outside the school and allegedly stripped and slapped her and recorded the incident on video. They also took pictures of the attack. Jane thought the issue had been settled.
THREATENING SMS
But it got worse. She received an SMS from one of the older girls, threatening to post the video on YouTube if she didn't pay them money.
It is believed that Jane panicked at this point and made a police report for attempted extortion.
In an e-mail to The New Paper, the principal confirmed the incident and said that the school was aware that a police report was made.
The principal said: "The welfare and well-being of our students is of utmost importance to the school. The students involved have been counselled, and their families informed."
He declined to provide further details.
They demand that she accept their "terms" to settle the score. The girl apparently agrees.
It is also understood that the school only knew of the incident after the police started their investigations.
A police spokesman confirmed that a report has been lodged and that investigations are ongoing. Blog posts by some students involved alluded to the incident but did not include any specific details.
One student wrote: "Recently, some things happened that involved us...Crying over spilt milk doesn't help much; you have to face the consequences."
In the same blog post, the student wrote that the CCA's teacher-in-charge spoke about the incident to the students.
"She sounded like she wanted to cry, yet she was trying to control her tears," the student wrote, describing her teacher.
APOLOGY
Another student involved apologised to her CCA mates on her blog for what had happened, mainly because the incident occurred just before an important performance.
They meet outside school, allegedly strip and slap her and record the incident on video.
She wrote: "Sorry I made all of you cry. I didn't mean to do it."
Most teachers from other schools whom The New Paper spoke to were not shocked by the incident. They said they knew of similar incidents, though these were not known to have been recorded on video. Most such incidents, they said, start off as playful gestures.
Said a secondary school teacher, who wanted only to be known as Mr Foo, 34: "I know of male students who 'taupok' (pile themselves on top of) their classmates on occasions like birthdays. Sometimes, they strip their friends too.
"On one occasion, the student sprained his ankle."
He added that students were increasingly filming such events because of the accessibility to handphone cameras.
"Sometimes, the students get carried away - they may not intend any harm."
The victim receives an SMS from one of the girls, threatening to post the video on YouTube if she doesn't pay them money.
A junior college teacher, who declined to be named, said she knew of students who had hit a fellow student on the head with a bag on his birthday.
"They also do things like dunking their friends in the swimming pool, or in the pond, which can be quite dangerous at times," she said.
Students The New Paper spoke to said that "happy slapping" incidents are relatively common but are seldom serious enough to warrant police involvement.
Student Ailin Phua, 16, said that she has heard of several similar incidents. She said: "Usually, the school deals with the students, and usually the students are suspended. But they shouldn't get all violent - that's just asking for it."
