Chinese officer assaults child for 'bullying'; faces backlash

A Chinese police officer has come under fire after a video of him assaulting a child accused of bullying went viral among the social platforms in China.

According to a report by South China Morning Post, the officer Wang and his colleague Dai were called into Hongzhuang Primary School in a county in northwestern China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region, on a report of bullying. In the school, two Primary Three students accused a Primary Six student named ma of bullying.

While investigations were ongoing, Ma left the school. Wang and Dai then pursued and confronted the student, which led to Wang assaulting the boy. The incident occurred on November 22 and was recorded by a surveillance camera.

Subsequently, the accused bully's mother posted the footage on social media, asking for justice for her child. The video gained a lot of traction and went viral, with users being conflicted over it.

Some said that the officer was in the right and was teaching the child that actions have consequences, while other condemned it, stating that the officer should never have resorted to violence and worked as per the laws, SCMP reported.

Local police announced on November 24 that Officer Wang has been dismissed and has apologised to Ma and his family. A medical examination of the boy revealed several bruises on his face and lower back.

According to a survey by the government-affiliated China Youth and Child Research Centre that SCMP quoted, 53.5 per cent of minors have experienced bullying in schools.

China in the recent years has stepped up against bullying, In May, China's Education Ministry announced an initiative that required primary and secondary schools to hold anti-bullying meetings at least twice a term for each class and to install hidden surveillance cameras.