Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat has supported the decision to expel nine students recorded bullying and assaulting another student in a video that recently went viral on the internet.

He said that the punishment could have a deterrent effect to avoid similar occurrences in the future.

“This is also a message to parents to get involved in overseeing their children’s education. It’s not solely the responsibility of schools, because education starts at home,” he said at City Hall on Tuesday.

The administration has also revoked the nine students’ Jakarta Smart Cards, a program to cover education funds for the needy.

“It aims to serve as a reminder not only for the perpetrators, but also students in general not to bully,” Djarot said.

Jakarta Education Agency head Sopan Andrianto said the expelled students could still enroll at other schools in the capital.

The nine students, male and female from several junior high schools in Central Jakarta, were recorded in the troubling footage bullying a female elementary school student in an empty corridor at the Thamrin City shopping center. The perpetrators grab the victim’s hair, punch and even kick her. The video ends with the victim being forced to kneel down before the bullies and kissing their hands. Some of the perpetrators cheer and take pictures of the ill-conduct.

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