Scholl boy gets beaten up

"His cervical vertebrae or neck bone is seriously dislocated," said Li Fan, the doctor who is caring for the boy.

"It is hard to say at this stage whether Tang will suffer any permanent damage."

Tang, a first-year student at Jiangwan Middle School, was attacked by two of his classmates on March 21 who grabbed his head and banged it against the desk repeatedly.

After lunch, the two classmates surnamed Xu and Hou again grabbed his hair and shook his head for more than 10 minutes.

They continued to kick and beat him severely after school.

When Tang returned home, his neck ached so much that his parents sent him to Liangcheng Hospital where he was diagnosed as having a seriously dislocated neck. He was immediately transferred to No 1 People's Hospital for treatment.

"The incident is the result of mismanagement of the school," said Tang Xiqing, the boy's father.

"Classes are always out of control and big students often bully the small and the weak," he said.

Tang Zheng had refused to give money or other small gifts to avoid being beaten.

"We were worried about his safety at school even before this happened," said Tang Xiqing in front of his son's sick bed.

The school authorities have expressed their regret that the incident ocurred and say they are trying their best to learn lessons from it.

"Poor management of the school should be blamed," a teacher said.

Wang Shirong, Tang's teacher denies there was a discipline problem in her class.

The incident is being investigated by Hongkou Education Bureau and Hongkou Police Bureau

Shanghai Star