Sascha Wilson
Senior Reporter
sascha.wilson@guardian.co.tt
Police are still trying to locate the five girls who brutally beat a Holy Faith Convent student outside the school gates in Couva last Tuesday.
Guardian Media was told that the girls were not at the addresses that the police were given, and they have not returned to their respective schools since the incident. None of the girls attend Holy Faith Convent, but they attend three other secondary schools in the Couva area.
In a telephone interview yesterday, the mother of the 15-year-old victim said she also received that information from the police, and it appeared that the girls were in hiding.
Based on the advice of the guidance officer, she said her daughter would not return to school for the remainder of the term.
She said they are discussing allowing her to sit a make-up exam, if required, when school reopens in September. Meanwhile, she said her daughter is recovering. She attended the eye clinic yesterday, and while her right eye is injured, the mother said her vision may not be affected.
The 45-year-old mother said she was so far pleased with the police response as well as the support her daughter has been receiving from the students and staff at her school and the Children’s Authority. A 30-second viral video showed five girls—students from other schools in casual clothes—beating and kicking the victim while she was on the ground.
The incident occurred after school was dismissed. She was standing at the gate when one of the girls grabbed her, dragged her to the ground, and they all began beating her. The victim’s mother told Guardian Media that her daughter was not the intended target, but the student whom the girls had the issue with had already left for the day.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said her government had adopted a zero tolerance for school violence, and students who engaged in violent acts would face expulsion and the full brunt of the law.
