Girls Forced to Swim with Python at Motivational Camp in Malaysia

October 22, 2016 09:34

You are swing in the water and suddenly you see a snake? You will definitely get scared and run away.

In a shocking video, 10 to 12-year-old girls are seen attending a motivational camp in Malaysia. They are asked to go inside a muddy water in which there is a snake. The video has gone viral in social media.

According to Malay Mail, "a video that's recently gone viral showed several girls, 10 to 12 years old, at a Kuala Kangsar Civil Defence Brigade after-school training program, which is supposed to be a basic "motivational camp" to help team-building, The program, which was founded in 2012, was in its 32nd session. Some 1,600 children have gone through it. As part of the program, the girls were supposed to undergo a series of "boot camp" experiences. One of them included running through a muddy pit and climbing up the slick side at the other end. But four trainers and six assistants at this particular camp clearly thought they would add something to spice up the training a bit. That something was a blood python, a non-venomous snake that's still large enough to instill fear in even the most grizzled of men."

In the three-minute video, nine girls go inside a mud pit, thinking to have fun at first. Suddenly, as they reached the other end, the men began spraying water on them. The girls suddenly notice a python inside the water everyone starts shouting.

A few girls managed to climb out, but the men forced them to get back into the water. The snake also came outside the pit but the men threw it back. Each time one of the girls attempted to come out, the men would again spray water.

One girl screamed "Cikgu, long," which means "Teacher, help." The men were seen laughing and enjoying the scene. The video has brought outrage.

"I condemn their action. It definitely would have traumatized the children who will probably be experiencing nightmares," Chiam Heng Keng, child psychologist and former human rights commissioner of Malaysia told AFP, adding that the adults involved must be "psychologically of their mind."

"I was horrified. How can these people throw snakes into the pond and then expect the kids to be brave and climb out of it? This is child abuse," she told Free Malaysia Today.

"The parents should also confront the principals for endangering the children's lives. How can they throw the snakes into the pond? This is a primary school, not a National Service stint."

All the 10 trainers along with their assistants have since been suspended.

"We have also suspended four trainers and their six assistants. An investigation is underway into the blood python incident. It is not part of the training program," Col. Mohamad Noor Hassan, the head of the local Civil Defence Force, told AFP.

"It is not our aim to traumatize the children. Having the python in the pool was never part of the program. It is a mistake. I am sorry it . . . happened."

The Mail reported that "police have launched an investigation into who leaked the video."