This triggered a spate of reports and articles in print and online media, which raised scrutiny on disciplinary procedures in Shuqun Secondary School.

A couple of these stories asked questions about why the school allegedly knew about the bullying for five months, but didn't seem to have acted to stop it or protect the victims involved.

Now, the ex-principal of Shuqun Secondary, who was in office from 2012 to the end of last year, has broken his silence on what happened.

(And before you think he resigned in the wake of the bullying case, he says up front he made the decision to leave "some time" before it happened.)

In a lengthy post published on his personal Facebook page and was subsequently shared by Minister Grace Fu, Chia Hai Siang revealed some previously unknown details about the case, but also had strong words for one website in particular, which he didn't name, for the stories they ran on it.

1. With regard to the case — the picture above, which he posted with his reflection, was taken on the first day of their return to school.

"The "bully" apologised in person and in writing to both victims and to the class. Both victims forgave him and they were friends again within 2 hours. Consequences were meted out to the boy according to our school rules in private and ALL THE PARENTS INVOLVED were satisfied with the actions of the school."

2. The three boys (bully and two victims) worked together on a service learning project where they baked brownies and made drinks, in reparation for the bad rep they brought to their school.

"More hearteningly, in November, the 3 boys, together with their classmates, initiated and planned their own service learning project during the school's open house. They baked brownies and made drinks for visitors to showcase the work of our student-run Hideout Cafe. They told me they wanted to make restoration for the bad reputation they had brought to the school. I am very proud of them."

3. He said the coverage by certain media involved "deliberate and irresponsible" decisions that first portrayed the school as being aware of the bullying over 5 months, and then played down the victim's mother's appreciation for the school's efforts to help her son.

Some of the details left out by one media he describes as "an online news website that purports to be a place for 'moderate speech and agreeable disagreement'" include:

- The fact that one of the victims' mums withdrew the police report she made about the incident two weeks later because she was satisfied with the actions taken by the school, and also felt it was a mistake to report it to the police;

- The fact that both victims wrote letters to Chia to say they felt sorry for their bully and wanted to see everyone move on from the incident; and

- The fact that the video itself was posted online by a school leaver from another school, not anyone from Shuqun.

4. He also questioned one report in particular, which he says "somehow understood and could speak for the boy's psychological state, better than the school" after the journalist had one or two meetings with one of the victims.

"By reducing the children to spokespeople for "the broader problem of bullying in schools", the reports cared nothing for them as people. They mention nothing about how one of the boys dreams of being a top chef, another speaks to his mum in sign language, the last has improved significantly in his reading despite suffering from dyslexia, and all three find EBS difficult. And all this which I know as a Principal is nothing compared to what my teachers know of them, working daily for 9+ hours each day with the boys over the last 3 years and sharing with them the heartache and struggles of their growth."

5. He also said one of his students pointed out that the comments made by adults on social media made them afraid to go out in their school uniforms, asking, "How is this not bullying?"

"As a teachable moment following the incident, my teachers conducted a bully-free lesson with all the students. This is material which we repeat every year as part of our bully-free week where we teach our students about the different forms of bullying including physical, verbal and psycho-social. In her reflection, one of my students mentioned the way that adults were behaving online, that was causing my students being afraid to go out in public in their uniforms after school and to participate in social media. She ended her reflection by asking " how is this not bullying?" I had no answer for her."

6. And here's one more thing: Chia said the father of one of the students seen being bullied in a second video actually sent a message of encouragement to him for his dedication to the students.

"When I met the father, he had complete trust in the school's handling of the matter. More importantly, because of the close relationship he had with his son, he was confident that his boy would have raised the matter to him if it had affected him. 2 days later, when the video became viral, it was HE who sent me a message of encouragement through my school counsellor - "Tell Mr Chia to take care. I am very impressed by his dedication to the students."

Thank you Mr Hong, and the many other parents and partners, for renewing our faith and for supporting our teachers as they do the hard work of believing in and helping your children."

Read Mr Chia's full Facebook post here: