Deputy education minister Lim Hui Ying said the ministry had taken the appropriate action and welcomed a meeting with the victim’s parents or guardians.

“We are open to discussions and will not take sides,” she told reporters at SK Tan Sri P Ramlee here.

She added that the ministry takes incidents of bullying, racism, and sexual harassment in schools very seriously and is determined to eradicate these issues.

Lim, who is also Tanjong MP, was asked to comment on media reports quoting Kuala Kangsar police chief Omar Bakhtiar Yaacob as saying that police were investigating the bullying incident involving a student at the boarding school.

Omar said the report alleging that a Form 4 student was beaten up by his seniors was received on Sept 24.

Meanwhile, Perak police chief Yusri Hassan Basri said the investigation for voluntarily causing hurt under Section 323 of the Penal Code had been completed and handed over to the deputy public prosecutor’s office on Monday.