He thought he was being nice by offering to help as an interpreter between the parent of his classmate, a local Chinese man, and his teacher. They had difficulty communicating because the man did not understand English, and the teacher was non-Chinese.

However, not only was he not rewarded for his effort, he ended up getting a beating from the parent instead.

The reason? The boy, identified by Lianhe Wanbao only by his surname, Luo, is not sure himself.

As monitor of the class, Luo thought he would offer his help as interpreter. He did not expect that he would be beaten up, allegedly by the parent, as a result.

According to Wanbao, this incident occured on Feb 19, at around 2pm in the afternoon in the school.

Luo told reporters that about a week ago, the girl was upset because she thought a fellow classmate had insulted her. However, Luo claims it was a misunderstanding.

Still unappeased a week later, the girl and her father came to the school to complain and seek an explanation from the student. However, they arrived to find that the boy had dropped out of school.

Luo said the girl's father looked to be in his 40s, and described him as 'menacing-looking'. He spoke to the teacher and demanded to know why the teacher had allowed the student to leave.

After 'ranting and raving' for 15 minutes, he left with his daughter.

Parent bashed student's head against the wall

Luo thought the issue had closed, but he bumped into father and daughter along the school corridor. He alleged that the man then lunged at him angrily and held him in a head-lock, all the while scolding him in Hokkien.

"I don't understand Hokkien, so I asked him what he was talking about, but he only got angrier and started to bash my head against the wall," said Luo.

He said blood began trickling down his forehead after the first few blows. His also lost his glasses in the fracas. Somehow, his classmates managed to pull him away from the man and into the office, locking the doors behind them.

The teacher then called the police and ambulance, which sent him to the National University Hospital.

The blows resulted in Luo sustaining a cut above his right eyebrow, which required five stitches. His right cheek was also swollen, and his right eye bloodshot. He also sustained scratches to his right arm during the scuffle.

Another side to the story

However, according to the girl's father, it was Luo who first started the fight, and told reporters that he too sustained injuries from the incident.

He complained of chest-pains, a sprained finger, as well as a swollen face, and was also taken to hospital for treatment.

The man said he simply wanted have a talk with the boy, and had placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. He claimed that the boy then attacked him, together with a group of friends who surrounded them.

In response to his claims, Luo maintained that he did not provoke the man, and insisted he had no idea why he was beaten up.

He said the girl's father had rammed his head against the wall so many times that he almost fainted, and claimed he retaliated only out of self-defence when he was hit.

His friends, Luo claims, were only trying to help by pulling them apart, and did not attack the man.

Case an 'isolated incident', police are investigating

Regarding the complaint Luo has made to the school about the attack, a spokesperson from ITE Clementi said this was an isolated incident.

As the case has been referred to the police, the school is unable to provide any more information on the matter.

When contacted, the police confirmed the case and that they are investigating the incident.