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Public outrage is growing after seven middle school students allegedly carried out a prolonged group assault on an intellectually disabled classmate.
South Chungcheong Provincial Police said Saturday they had booked seven middle school students on charges including group assault after receiving a report about the incident and are investigating.
The seven students, identified by the surname A and others, are accused of beating fellow middle schooler B and illegally filming him at an outdoor rest area in Cheonan on May 26.
Footage released by MBC showed multiple male and female students surrounding B, knocking him to the ground, dragging him by the hair and climbing on top of him to punch him in the face.
The assailants then took B to the rooftop of a nearby building, where they burned his body with a lit cigarette and filmed the assault.
A witness at the scene said they heard slapping sounds and watched the boy fall down an embankment. The witness said the attackers repeatedly told him to climb back up, then pushed him down again.
B's family said the attackers also stripped him, filmed him without his clothes and forced him to eat live snails.
The students moved between locations and continued the assault for roughly two hours.
They fled when officers arrived in response to a report.
B's parents told police they suspect the attack was retaliation, saying they had previously filed a school violence complaint against one of the assailants.
Two of the seven suspects are below the age of criminal responsibility and are expected to be referred to a juvenile court rather than face criminal charges.
paq@heraldcorp.com
