By Dennis Wong and Desmond Davidson

KUCHING: A stolen mobile phone, the savage beating of the suspected thief and the arrest of nine secondary school students.

These were the ingredients of the investigations into the assault of a Form Three student at SMK Oya last month witnessed by horrified Internet surfers on YouTube.

The nine suspects -- four from Form Six, two from Form Five, one from Form Four and two from Form Three -- were detained by police yesterday when they attended school after a week's suspension.

The students are still being questioned at the Dalat district police headquarters.

One of the Form Six students, who was part of the mob, had earlier lodged a police report claiming that the victim had stolen his Nokia 3230 mobile phone on Feb 7.

The group confronted the suspected thief in one of their rooms at the school hostel on Feb 12.

They assaulted him and the victim allegedly confessed to stealing the mobile phone and pleaded for four days to return the stolen item.

When he failed to return the mobile phone he was attacked again. The vicious attack made headlines after it was posted on YouTube on Feb 27.

All the nine boys involved in the assault were suspended on Feb 23 after their action was made known to the school

The victim feared for his safety and refused to go to school.

Despite constant questioning by his parents, he tried to keep the incident a secret until the YouTube clip was posted. The clip, titled as "SMK Oya style wrestling", has since been removed from the site.

Dalat police chief Deputy Superintendent Martin Koo said the case was being investigated for theft and assault.

"We want to establish the motive for the attack.

"We will also be calling the victim for his statement," Koo said.

Police have recovered the stolen mobile phone from a shop in Dalat.

Meanwhile, the education department will submit a full report of the incident to state Education Department director Dr Julaihi Bujang when he visits the school tomorrow.

Julaihi warned that the students face expulsion if investigations proved they were involved in the assault.

"This is not a bullying case. It's assault with intent to cause injury," he said.

Julaihi confirmed that all the students involved, including the one who recorded the beating on his mobile phone, had been identified.

Sarawak Teachers Union (STU) president William Ghani Bina urged the department not to handle this case with "kid gloves".

"We want the school, department and police to take stern action against those involved.

"We do not condone such action.

"Schools have never taught students to take the law into their own hands."

His statement was also echoed by the Sarawak Bumiputera Teachers' Union.

--NST