Pellau Magazine

FOUR female students of Cunupia Government Secondary are to be charged with assault via summons after they savagely beat a fellow female student outside the school’s compound last week Wednesday.

Yesterday, Central Division police sources confirmed to Newsday that WPC Marcano, lead investigator in the case of the assault of schoolgirl Sapphire Douglas, 16, will serve summons on the four students, one of whom is in Form Three and the others, in Form Five. Douglas told Newsday she was viciously attacked outside the school’s compound last week Wednesday and beaten for 20 minutes by the students whom she subsequently identified to police. Newsday was told two students confessed their role in the beating to police. The four female students have already been served with suspension notices by school Principal Vishnu Maharaj. 

Yesterday, Sapphire’s father Stephen Douglas told Newsday a parent of one of the suspects telephoned him on Tuesday but he (Douglas) refused to speak with that parent as he (Douglas) is waiting for justice to be served via the courts. He told Newsday that after being assured that the summons will be served before this week ends, he met with and told Principal Maharaj on Tuesday that he was not sending Sapphire back to school, until the court matter starts. 

“I have not been given any assurance of my daughter’s safety when she returns to school. I am hoping the Ministry of Education intervenes and puts systems in place to protect students like my daughter against bullying,” Douglas said. Douglas said he is anxious for his daughter to resume her schooling but says her physical safety is paramount. Sapphire suffered injuries to her right eye and ribs during the beating outside the school compound. 

School sources said a possible answer to reducing the students’ aggression is to build a playground on the compound to allow students to release their energies in sport. The school, which is 13 years old and has a student population of 670, has no play area. 

“These children do not have a basketball court, a ground where they can play cricket, football or some other sporting activities and this has resulted in the students not being able to be exposed to healthy extracurricular activities which perhaps plays a part in their violent behaviour,” a school official said.