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Japanese elementary school boy bullies classmate for one million yen
TOKYO (AP) - A Japanese sixth grader bullied a classmate into giving him over one million yen ($12,000 Cdn) over several years so he and his friends could buy video games, fishing gear and snacks, an official said Tuesday.
The 11-year-old student at a public school in western Tokyo had been squeezing cash out of his classmate since they were in the third grade, said Shigeru Sakurai, a member of the Kiyose Board of Education overseeing the boys' school.
The parents of the victim, also 11, grew suspicious after noticing a large sum of money had been withdrawn from a bank account they seldom used, Sakurai said.
He said he didn't know how much was withdrawn from the account. The national Asahi newspaper reported that the parents saw footage from the bank's security camera, which showed their son and the group taking out money - amounting to a total of 950,000 yen ($11,500 Cdn) - from their account through an ATM.
The parents then contacted the police.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said they hadn't announced any information on the case and couldn't comment.
The victim had also been bullied in other ways, such as having his sports clothes and lunch bag thrown into the garbage. Other students also forced him to do their homework.
His mother talked to his teacher about the harassment, but his teacher says he doesn't remember the conversation, Sakurai, the education board official, said.
Bullying has been consistent problem for Japanese schools. In recent years, truancy has been on the rise as greater numbers of students have been skipping school to avoid bullying, peer pressure and stress from exams.
© The Canadian Press, 2004
TOKYO (AP) - A Japanese sixth grader bullied a classmate into giving him over one million yen ($12,000 Cdn) over several years so he and his friends could buy video games, fishing gear and snacks, an official said Tuesday.
The 11-year-old student at a public school in western Tokyo had been squeezing cash out of his classmate since they were in the third grade, said Shigeru Sakurai, a member of the Kiyose Board of Education overseeing the boys' school.
The parents of the victim, also 11, grew suspicious after noticing a large sum of money had been withdrawn from a bank account they seldom used, Sakurai said.
He said he didn't know how much was withdrawn from the account. The national Asahi newspaper reported that the parents saw footage from the bank's security camera, which showed their son and the group taking out money - amounting to a total of 950,000 yen ($11,500 Cdn) - from their account through an ATM.
The parents then contacted the police.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department said they hadn't announced any information on the case and couldn't comment.
The victim had also been bullied in other ways, such as having his sports clothes and lunch bag thrown into the garbage. Other students also forced him to do their homework.
His mother talked to his teacher about the harassment, but his teacher says he doesn't remember the conversation, Sakurai, the education board official, said.
Bullying has been consistent problem for Japanese schools. In recent years, truancy has been on the rise as greater numbers of students have been skipping school to avoid bullying, peer pressure and stress from exams.
© The Canadian Press, 2004