The angry parents of a 15-year-old girl are demanding 1 million yuan (US$123,000) from the families of her five classmates, all girls, who allegedly kidnapped the girl after school and severely beat her.

Police are investigating the alleged attack and the vocational school that all six girls attend says it has punished the girls for attacking their classmate.

This is the second time in recent weeks that a group of teenage girls from a vocational school have attacked a female classmate.

The girl, whom the parents would only identify as Xiao Hui, was allegedly kidnapped by five of her classmates at Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Language School on the afternoon of December 20.

The five girls first took Xiao to an apartment to kick and beat her, Xiao's parents said.

"They forced me to kneel down and beat me. They slapped my face when I bowed," Xiao said.

She said that she was slapped, kicked and beaten with rubber sticks until the attack was interrupted by police officers who arrived after being alerted by a passer-by.

The girls allegedly hid Xiao while they convinced police that nothing improper was happening. They then allegedly took Xiao to two other places where they continued the beating.

When they finally released Xiao, they told her not to tell anyone about the attack, Xiao said. They also allegedly took most of her money, but left her a few coins after she begged repeatedly.

The girl managed to catch a bus with the coins and finally arrived home late in the evening.

Her parents took her to the hospital immediately, where she was treated for massive bruising on her body, face and head.

Police then questioned the five girls after Xiao's parents and the vocational school reported the attack.

The girls allegedly confessed to the attack and said they had previously destroyed the girl's school uniform, writing threatening words, such as "the next to die will be you," in October.

Xiao said the girls had forced her to do their homework and run errands for them, but she had recently begun to defy them.

She hasn't returned to school since the attack, as she is still recovering from her physical injuries and the mental strain brought on by the kidnapping and beating.

Her parents want the five girls to make an apology in front of the whole school as well as paying a huge amount of money in compensation.

(Shanghai Daily December 27, 2005)