SEREMBAN: Four secondary students pleaded guilty at the Magistrate’s Court here to a charge of assaulting a Form One schoolmate here.

       Three of the accused are in Form Four and another in Form Three.

       They were jointly charged with assaulting the 13-year-old victim at the SMK Tunku Ampuan Durah hostel around midnight on May 13.

       They were charged under Section 323 of the Penal Code read together with Section 34 of the same legislation for voluntarily causing hurt.

       Offenders can be jailed up to a year or fined up to RM2,000 or both upon conviction.

       Magistrate Norzaliza Tesmin fixed June 22 for sentencing pending probation reports.

       Deputy public prosecutor Nurul Muhaimin Mohd Azman prosecuted.

       The victim’s father had prior to this told reporters that the boy did not inform him about the alleged assault initially.

       He refused to do so for fear of being assaulted again.

       However, the victim called his older brother a day later and told him about the incident.

       The older brother then informed their mother who immediately went to the school to check on her son.

       She was shocked to see the injuries suffered by the victim, which included swellings and bruises, and lodged a police report.

       The victim’s father claimed his son had been traumatised by the incident and refused to return to school.