Action taken against Hong Kong teacher who carried student like a bride

HONG KONG: In the same week as a principal resigned after videos of him shouting at security guards during a school trip to Singapore went viral, the behaviour of another of the city’s educators has been under the spotlight. 

However, authorities had already dealt with the matter when it first came to light.

After photos of the teacher carrying a female student like how a groom carries a bride in his arms were shared online, Hong Kong’s Education Bureau told the South China Morning Post that in 2024, upon learning of the incident, they had already taken action.

Not only had it immediately recommended that the school follow up on the incident, but it had also given support to the students involved in the photo to “effectively safeguard their welfare,” a spokesman for the Bureau also said.

Moreover, it had also “taken appropriate action in accordance with the nature and severity of the incident, and has dealt with the teacher’s professional conduct matters with the utmost seriousness.”

SCMP said three photos from the incident have surfaced: one of the man holding the student in the “princess carry” position, another that showed the girl running after him, and a third showing her with her arms around his waist.

She had captioned the photos with “da best class teacher ever” and thanked him for the “unforgettable” opportunity she had been given to work on a school play.

The spokesman also underlined what the bureau’s Guidelines on Teachers’ Professional Conduct says, that educators are expected to behave in a way that safeguards student welfare. Their conduct must also “comply with professional standards, so that students can learn in a safe and orderly school environment,” he added.

School principal who shouted at guards in Singapore resigned

On May 29, Lee Cheuk-hing, who used to head San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School in Tuen Mun, resigned from his position as principal. 

At an undisclosed location in Jurong on May 22, he was caught on camera shouting at two female security guards who were asking for the vehicle he and his students were using to be moved. He went on to taunt the guards, despite efforts from at least three onlookers to get him to calm down. 

Afterwards, it was reported that the incident was under investigation in Singapore, as well as by Hong Kong’s Education Bureau. The school issued a public apology for the incident, and its manager said that Mr Lee had been suspended as his conduct during the incident did not meet public expectations. /TISG

Read also: We ‘stand firmly behind our officers’ — Singapore’s Union of Security Employees defends personnel on duty after they were verbally abused by Hong Kong school principal, who later apologised