After Timir started complaining of pain while urinating, Savoy said she found out that classmates were bullying him with a “game” that’s purpose is to kick and punch someone in the genitals. She said that she immediately went to administrators about the situation but they seemed already aware of what kids were doing.
“There was a teacher that had entered and she says oh they’re playing Bangkok, the kids play that here all the time,” she said during a press conference. “I was horrified. I’ve never heard of this game and if they were aware of it why wasn’t it stopped?”
According to Savoy, she made multiple complaints to both the principal and assistant principal at PS 178 but she alleged that the game still continued and they didn’t do enough to stop it. “The principal said he would get the parents of the two boys into the school for mediation. That same day the boys kicked him again,” she told the New York Daily News. “My son said the kids in his class have been kicking him in his peanuts and they almost fell off."
The game, known as Bang C*ck, Thailand was allegedly popular among first graders according to ABC7NY and involved students calling out “C–k Block!” if they missed their targets. Timir was diagnosed him with microscopic hematuria, or blood in the urine, from the repeated kicks and is still dealing with injuries. “New York City Board of Education, you failed my child. Timir is still suffering today,” she said. “He is still passing blood when he urinates and the doctors don’t even know how much damage has been done.”
Savoy claims the school didn’t do enough to protect her child and filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education for $5.5 million. “The principal and assistant principal had notice of what was going on, they knew this was going on in the school, they knew that this child was suffering,” her attorney, Sanford Rubenstein, said. “Parents have a right to expect that their young children will be safe in school and not end up having to be treated by a urologist.” The Department of Education responded to the allegations in a statement to the press: “This troubling incident was immediately and appropriately addressed by the school. Disciplinary action was swiftly taken, and the students have been provided with counseling support.”
