A 10-YEAR-OLD girl has told how she feared she was going to die at the hands of another pupil who she says fashioned a noose out of a skipping rope and attempted to hang her from a tree at school.

Belinda Yoon and daughter Amber, who was born with an array of medical conditions, are speaking out about the shocking incident to take a stand against bullying.

Mrs Yoon said Amber was on a lunchbreak at Queen of Apostles Primary School in Riverton when a fellow student called her over to a tree.

Camera Icon Amber Yoon showing the marks left on her neck from a skipping rope. Credit: Supplied

She said the other child had thrown a skipping rope over a branch, setting up what at first looked to be a mock gallows.

After placing the noose loosely over another child’s neck and then their own, the pupil told Amber it was her turn, Mrs Yoon said. Amber, much smaller than most children her age, refused but was easily overpowered.

After forcing the noose into place, Amber said her attacker began winding more of the rope tightly around her neck before pulling on the other end, nearly lifting her feet off the ground.

“I was feeling very scared,” Amber said. “I thought I was going to die. And I was scared I was going to get into trouble.”

Mrs Yoon said Amber was able to force her hands beneath the rope before it tightened, protecting a fragile throat that underwent its first surgery the hour after she was born.

She said at that point a staff member spotted what was happening from the other side of the oval and ran over to intervene, initially believing Amber had placed the noose around her neck herself.

Camera Icon Belinda Yoon with her daughter, Amber. Credit: Daniel Wilkins

“The teacher accused me, she sound really stern,” Amber said.

“She was holding the skipping rope in her hand and said, ‘You do understand we are going to tell your mum and dad right’.”

Mrs Yoon and her husband Dave said they were not contacted about the incident by the school, despite the principal requiring Amber, the perpetrator and two other children who witnessed the incident to write statements about what had occurred.

The school also did not have Amber medically assessed by a professional despite the presence of ligature marks on the back of her neck.

Mrs Yoon, who had arranged for a friend to pick up Amber that day, said she only found out what had happened when her daughter walked through the front door and burst into tears.

Amber was born with her oesophagus disconnected from her stomach and a hole in her heart resulting in cardiac arrest as a five-month-old baby.

Camera Icon Amber Yoon with dad Dave Yoon when she was a baby. Credit: Supplied

In and out of Princess Margaret Hospital for much of her life, she is also nearly completely deaf and was fitted with a cochlear implant as a toddler.

The Yoons spent countless hours hunched over their miracle daughter’s hospital bed bracing for the worst, but never did they imagine her life might end at the hands of a classmate.

“To say I’m angry would be an understatement,” Mrs Yoon said.

“We’ve had a lot of medical issues and we’ve always been able to just deal with it step by step.

“This is different, it’s kind of like you go from sadness to anger into just hurt.

“To think that someone tries to hurt your baby in such a malicious way is beyond heartbreaking.

“I just look at her and I can’t believe someone put her through that violence.”

Mrs Yoon immediately contacted WA Police, who have confirmed they are investigating.

The couple have always known their daughter’s differences might cost her life — but not because they made her an easy target for a bully.

“We’ve been to hell before. We’ve been completely brought to our knees before with Amber in hospital but this is different,” Mrs Yoon said.

A 2016 Mission Australia survey of nearly 21,000 students aged eight to 14 found a quarter reported being bullied every few weeks or more.

The highest prevalence rates were for children in Year 5 — just like Amber — while students with a disability, same sex attraction or from a racial, ethnic or religious minority were particularly vulnerable.

Camera Icon Amber in ICU. Credit: Supplied

“The fact that Amber is even able to walk is a miracle all on its own and so to have kids be so nasty and with such a lack of empathy ... I don’t understand where we as a society have gone wrong because this is starting to go beyond just your simple school yard bullying,” Mrs Yoon said.

“We had bullying when I was a kid but not like this.

“We are in a society now where it is dangerous and kids are committing suicide — that was unheard of back in my day.”

A month before the attempted hanging, Mrs Yoon discovered entries in Amber’s diary in which the primary student drew and labelled herself “weird girl” and wrote, “There is something I can’t get off my mind ... why won’t my friends play with me?”

The heartbreaking note continues: “I have no one else to play with and if I do try to sit with anyone they’ll ignore me.”

Mrs Yoon, whose son Hunter, nine, also attends Queen of Apostles and told his mum he had repeatedly witnessed Amber spending break times alone, immediately emailed the diary entries to the school and set up a meeting with staff.

“We went through all our concerns and we specifically named (the pupil accused of the hanging) as the main ringleader who was causing the issues with the other children,” Mrs Yoon said.

“The following week we had another meeting where they said they were still investigating and then we were back there literally two days before this happened at which point the school still hadn’t committed to any kind of action.”

She has withdrawn both Amber and Hunter from Queens of Apostles and is working with Catholic Education WA (CEWA) to place them at a different institution.

Camera Icon Amber has been left traumatised by the ordeal. Credit: Daniel Wilkins

The school referred all questions from The Sunday Times to CEWA.

CEWA said it was liaising with WA Police regarding the incident and that out of respect for the privacy of those involved it would not provide any further information, including details of any consequences faced by the alleged bully.

“The wellbeing and safety of all students remains the highest priority for CEWA and we will continue to work with the families of the individual students involved, WA Police and relevant authorities to ensure their concerns are comprehensively considered and addressed,” a CEWA spokeswoman said.

“The school continues to consult with the families of the students impacted by the incident.”

Mrs Yoon said she believed the perpetrator continued to attend the school.

“I don’t know if charges will be laid and it’s not like I’m wanting their head to roll — it’s a little (child) — but what I am saying is the consequences need to be severe and shameful enough that bullies are aware what they have done is wrong,” she said.

“There need to be blanket rules and harder consequences. Our children are hurting and there need to be consequences for these bullies that act as a real deterrent.”

Mrs Yoon said that as a minimum she wanted automatic suspensions for any child caught bullying but believed just as important was requiring the perpetrator to front their peer group and acknowledge what they had done.

“I think that would be a really good start,” she said.

“Kids are going to look at that and go, ‘That is pretty embarrassing, I’m not going to put myself in that position’. And it’s going to let everyone else know it is not OK.

“I’m not saying we bring back the cane but I’m saying we can be a bit firmer to prevent this happening because my heart is broken.

“What happened that day could easily have had a very different ending and we’d be telling an even sadder story.”