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An e-mail sent to Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP) students on May 17 said that all 28 male NP students who were found participating in the hazing accident have been disciplined, according to a report by The Straits Times (ST).
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Punitive action
Following the incident on Mar. 20, NP conducted a disciplinary enquiry between Apr. 19 to Apr. 21, according to ST.
28 male students in their second or third year were found complicit in the hazing incident.
In addition, the parties involved were caught without masks and breaching safe distancing measures.
Punishments ranging from corrective work orders to suspensions were doled out for violating the school's student code of conduct.
The incident
The 28 students were in a trial programme for student facilitators to prepare for the NPSU freshmen bonding programme.
"After the trial programme, the group of 28 students gathered in a campus toilet and participated in an inappropriate act purportedly for 'fun', led by one of the students," the e-mail said, according to ST.
A video of the incident showed pairs of students urinating on two male students who were squatting while facing a toilet shower cubicle's wall in the nude.
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Once done, other students entered the same cubicle to urinate on the two kneeling students.
Image from Mothership.sg.
Simultaneously, more students looked on and shouted from outside of the cubicle:
"Eh I want you to empty your vessels ah! Eh you all better pee ah!"
"Eh! Pee the hair! Pee the hair!"
Videos and photos of the incident were taken by those involved and later shared in WhatsApp chat groups and social media platforms.
By Mar. 22, videos of the incident had been widely circulated and the police were alerted.
A day later on Mar. 23, one of the students claiming to have been urinated on came forward on social media.
In his Instagram story update, the student said that the incident was consensual, where he had agreed to being urinated on.
The student dismissed allegations of bullying and instead called the incident "mindless fun".
Image from Instagram.
Anti-hazing policy
According to ST, NP labelled the incident as "indecent and disrespectful" in their e-mail.
They also said that the school will increase its efforts in educating students on responsible behaviour and the importance of mutual respect and have included an anti-hazing policy in its student code of conduct.
Student activities on campus, including the selection and training of student leaders and volunteers, will also be closely supervised.
Addressing the further allegations of NPSU related bullying and sexual harassment that had surfaced on social media after the hazing incident, NP said in its e-mail that investigations are ongoing.
In addition, NP said: "All students are encouraged to come forward and report activities or incidents that they are not comfortable with, even if these activities might appear to be consensual."
NP response
In response to queries from Mothership, an NP spokesperson said the polytechnic does not condone any form of misconduct and all NPSU activities have been suspended since March 25, 2021 and will remain suspended indefinitely.
NP has added an anti-hazing policy in its student code of conduct, outlining what constitutes inappropriate activities and behaviours as well as the sanctions against such practices.
Any student clubs or societies found to violate the policy may face an indefinite suspension of their activities, and the student offenders will be severely dealt with.
"To prevent future recurrence, we will also review our practices to strengthen our supervision of student activities on campus, including the selection and training of student leaders and volunteers," the spokesperson added.
Anyone witnessing or experiencing misconduct or inappropriate behaviour, or know someone involved, is encouraged to contact lecturers for support or send a message to Tellnp@np.edu.sg, an open channel for students to report irregularities or misconduct.
Related stories:
https://mothership.sg/2021/03/police-investigate-ngee-ann-poly-students-pee-hazing
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