|
|
Community
Issues - 'taupok' game in
JC
|
Parent complains about 'taupok' game in JC
|
Excerpt
of
letter by Justin Situ Ren Jun in the Forum
section of The Straits Times of 11 Jan
2005 (H7) |
|
"I am a parent of a boy studying in
a premier junior college in the Bishan-Ang
Mo Kio area. Recently, it has come to my
attention that rowdy behaviour is
threatening to compromise the safety of
the students. |
|
"According to my son, the violent act is
dubbed ‘taupok’, a reference to a highly
compressible piece of brown beancurd. A
student would shout ‘taupok’ and other
students would pounce on the targeted
person, drag him down forcefully and climb
on top of him. Due to peer pressure, more
and more students would join in until the
stack of bodies is about a metre high. |
|
"This violent act is
supposedly done in the name of fun but, as
a parent, I feel that it is potentially
dangerous and even life-threatening.
|
|
"Furthermore, the ‘taupoking’ is not a
rare occurrence. It can happen up to five
times a day, anywhere and to any person. |
|
"During the orientation
programme for year One students, even a
person standing on the stage during a
performance could get ‘taupoked’…. |
|
|
Excerpt of article
“Raffles JC to warn students against ‘taupok’
” in The Straits Times of 12 Jan 2005 (H5) |
|
"…At Raffles Junior College (RJC),
students will be cautioned at today’s morning
assembly that ‘taupok’ may cause injuries. |
|
"Principal Winston Hodge said
it was not an approved activity or part of the
orientation programme. A parent had complained
recently, and a teacher had to break up a
‘taupok’ on two occasions, he said. |
| "In a statement, the education Ministry
said that the incident referred to in the
Forum letter was ‘not an approved activity’
and the ‘principal will take appropriate steps
to advise students against such activities’…." |
|
|
Excerpt
of
letter by Ms Lindy Heng Ling in the Forum
section of The Straits Times of 13 Jan
2005 (H10) |
|
"...Having just graduated from junior
college (coincidentally, my alma mater is
also in the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio area), I can
assure Mr Situ that 'taupoks' are
certainly not a way of life in JCs,
including the college I graduated from. |
|
"Instead, my
schoolmates and I expressed our care and
concern for one another in other
non-physical ways, and our teachers did
not encourage 'taupoks' as shows of
camaraderie among students. |
|
" 'Taupok'
incidents do happen in JCs, usually during
the first week of the orientation
programme. These usually occur as some
over-enthusiastic students may 'taupok'
someone in the name of fun, without
realising the consequences..." |
|
|
|
|
All rights reserved
