'I was bullied too'
The 12-year-old boy filmed bullying another student in Sydney's west has apologised after footage of him being body-slammed was shown around the world but claims he was provoked.
Ritchard told Today Tonight he was "pretty angry" at his schoolmate.
"He abused me first, he was like 'get to class' and calling me an idiot, all that kind of stuff. And I didn't like it," he said.
"That's what he's trying to say to make everyone stick up for him. It made me angry so I went down and hit him."
But Ritchard Gale, the year 7 student from Chifley College Dunheved campus who taunted and punched year 10 student Casey Heynes, 15, said he was "sorry".
The two students shown in the clip filmed last Monday were both suspended, but not before the video went viral on the internet hit with the majority of people sympathetic to the older boy's plight.
Ritchard said that he had been a victim of bullying in primary school.
"I got bullied at primary school; always used to get teased. I just snap like that now. People used to say stuff... I just chase them, hit them and stuff."
When asked if he was sorry, Ritchard's initial answer was "no" but then changed his answer to "yes".
He said that he wasn't really sorry because "he [Casey] started on me first".
When asked if he would take part in bullying again, Ritchard said, "most probably not."
"Don't bully because you end up getting hurt bad."
