Tin Shui Wai school teacher arrested for alleged sexual harassment of female students on mainland exchange

A 43-year-old teacher working at a Tin Shui Wai secondary school was arrested on Tuesday night after he was alleged to have sexually harassed up to five female students during an exchange trip to the mainland in April.

The case came to light after an Instagram page linked to the Tin Shui Wai school was used to publish several posts alleging pupils were harassed during the school trip and that the institution had failed to take action.

The teacher was accused of having sexually harassed at least five girls on a five-day trip he led to Changchun in Jilin province in the spring. The students were said to be inappropriately touched in their hands and backs, and having their armpits poked by the teacher.

Police said the arrest last night came after they received a complaint alleging a 14-year-old female student from the Tin Shui Wai school was sexually harassed by a man.

The 43-year-old man was currently detained for further investigation.

The Education Bureau earlier confirmed it had launched an investigation after a secondary school reported allegations of a male teacher sexually harassing female students during the trip.

“The school concerned has notified the Education Bureau of the incident and activated a crisis management team to deal with the incident,” a spokesman said.

The spokesman added that action would be taken “if any violation of teachers’ professional ethics is found”.