BEING beaten up by her schoolmates was bad enough. But now she finds they are bullying her again - in cyberspace.

One even threatened on a blog: 'I will pull you down with me.'

On 22 Mar, The New Paper reported that a 14-year-old girl had been treated in National University Hospital on three occasions after being punched, kicked and slapped by five schoolmates.

The police were called and the school principal met the alleged attackers' parents.

One student was expelled, but the others are back at school, pending police investigations.

Now, the alleged attackers are apparently taunting the girl on their blogs.

WANTS A TRANSFER

The cyber-bullying has made the girl unwilling to attend lessons. She hopes to get a transfer to another school.

She told The New Paper: 'A friend sent me the website addresses of the blogs. I'm trying to forget what happened but these blogs have made it difficult to do so.'

We are not identifying the girl because she is a minor.

One blog claimed the girl had to be hospitalised repeatedly because she took 60 paracetamol tablets.

She had overdosed on the tablets, thinking her severe headaches would go away.

The beating on 25 Feb had left her with migraines, double vision and buzzing in her ears.

The alleged attacker also rebuked the girl for getting the police involved.

In one post, she wrote: 'Remember that if I were to go to the Girls' Home, I'll pull you down with me too.'

The blogger also refused to believe the girl had no money to pay her medical bills because she appeared in school with a new hairstyle after the incident.

She asked how she managed to do this if the family had no money.

BORROWED MONEY

The girl's mother, Mrs Ng, a housewife in her 50s, told The New Paper she had to borrow money to pay the hospital bills while a claim with the school's insurers was pending.

The girl admitted that her fringe had been rebonded, but insisted that it was her aunt who paid for it.

She said: 'My aunt wanted me to have a new look. But my schoolmates saw the new hairdo and began passing sarcastic comments each time they saw me in school.'

In another post, the same blogger taunted the girl for speaking to the press, saying she should continue being a 'storyteller'.

The alleged attackers also had no problem boasting about their disciplinary problems.

One boy wrote on his blog that he had been called to the school's discipline master's office several times and that he has a pending police case.

In another blog, the writer boasted that her doting parents did not punish her despite being called to the school over the assault.

The victim said she had complained to her principal and teachers about the contents of the blogs.

Access to the blogs has been limited after that.

Counsellor Harry Low said the girl could report the blogs to the police if she feels the messages are threatening.

Otherwise, she should continue with counselling to help her forget the incidents.

Mr Low, who works with the National University of Singapore, said: 'Holding on to something takes up time and energy and it will only make you unhappier. It's always better to try to let go and move on with life.'

Mr Low, who has counselled juvenile delinquents since 1998, said teenagers resort to cyber-bullying as they are probably not aware that the blogs can be traced to them.

He said: 'Teenagers, especially, are very innocent about the law and don't know what they are doing could be considered criminal intimidation.'

Anyone found guilty of criminal intimidation can be jailed up to two years.

This article was first published in The New Paper on Apr 4, 2008.