By Khushwant Singh

ANGRY that his older friend was bragging about being the 'biggest gangster' in Toa Payoh, a 14-year-old ganged up with three friends to tie a dog collar around the braggart's neck.

They then paraded him, crawling on all fours, along the corridor and even tied him to a pipe at the lift lobby. There, the group punched and kicked their victim. The 14-year-old also recorded the entire process on his mobile phone.

Yesterday, the Juvenile Court asked for a pre-sentencing on him, paving the way for the teenager to be placed on probation. As he and two of the other attackers are below 16 years of age and considered minors, no details that could lead to their identification can be published.

The court heard that on the evening of Sept 25, all five friends were chatting in one of their homes in Toa Payoh. When talk shifted to the gangs in the neighbourhood, one of the 17-year-olds claimed he was the biggest thug in that area.

This annoyed the rest, who decided to play a prank on him. But it went too far. To belittle him, they forced him to put on a dog collar and then dragged him onto the common corridor on a leash.

They 'walked' him like a dog to the lift lobby. There, the hapless teen tried to retract his boasts, only to be kicked and punched.

The victim, who suffered bruises on his chest, went to the police after he was freed.

In court yesterday, the 14-year-old student pleaded guilty to hurting and wrongfully restraining his friend with the leash. He pleaded for leniency, saying he wanted to continue his studies. But his mother revealed that she had received complaints from his school about him playing truant.

That prompted the District Judge Lim Keng Yeow to ask the boy to show one shred of evidence that he was serious about studying. The boy kept mum, and the court referred the matter to probation officers for their recommendations.

He is to return to court on Jan 4. He was released on $6,000 bail furnished by his mother. She is divorced from her husband, who she said is uncontactable. A 17-year-old accomplice has been charged, while investigations are ongoing for the other two, both 15.

The court was not told what the group intended to do with the video clip but in the past, such acts have been put up on websites such as YouTube.

Psychiatrists told The Straits Times that some people film their attacks so that they have evidence of how they had punished or humiliated the victim.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.