TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A high school student was reportedly attacked by a dozen netizens Sunday morning (Feb. 7) for his involvement in bullying a teenage girl last week.
On Wednesday (Feb. 3), a video showing a high school girl being slapped across the face by nine other students surfaced on the Facebook page "Local Residents of Fengshan District" (鳳山人在地大小事). The incident quickly drew the attention of local officials, including City Councilor Huang Chie (黃捷), who said the video was "heartbreaking" to watch.
After an investigation, the police determined that the video had been shot at the Fengshan Women's Center on Jan. 22 and nine aggressors were charged with assault, intimidation, and public insult. The high school of the victim was also disciplined for its poor handling of the incident.
Despite the legal actions taken by the authorities, some netizens still demanded revenge for the young girl and were able to identify a 19-year-old boy, surnamed Huang (黃), as one of the perpetrators. On Sunday morning, Huang was taken to a local cemetery and beaten with iron bars and baseball bats by a group of netizens, resulting in his right hand being fractured.
The police said they had detained 16 suspects, including one of Huang's acquaintances, involved in the assault. However, they said further investigation is needed since most of the suspects did not know each other in real life and had denied attacking Huang.
Meanwhile, six other netizens were arrested for throwing eggs at Huang's residence on Saturday (Feb. 6), according to the police. The individuals confessed that they were upset about the bullying incident and decided to take revenge for the young girl by themselves.
During a press interview on Monday (Feb. 8), Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) condemned the violent acts and said vigilante justice cannot be tolerated. He also urged the police department to continue background checks of the 16 individuals tied to Huang's attack, reported CNA.