Lawmaker calls for probe over coach forcing student to slap himself

An online video showing a basketball coach allegedly forcing a student to slap himself on a secondary school basketball court has sparked public outrage and prompted a lawmaker to call for an immediate investigation by the school, along with a public explanation.

The 30-second clip, which surfaced on the social media platform Threads on Monday, was reportedly filmed at Hon Wah College, a school well-known in the academic basketball circuit. 

In the footage, the coach is seen throwing a student’s jacket onto the ground before grabbing the boy’s hand and forcing him to slap his own face several times, all while verbally scolding him.

Around 20 teammates and two staff members witnessed the incident without intervening. 

The coach involved is reported to be Yung Kam-wah, a prominent former player of the Hong Kong Men’s Basketball Team. 

Speaking on a radio program on Tuesday, lawmaker Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong said that the incident is completely unacceptable, highlighting the humiliation involved in forcing someone to slap themselves.

Ho stated that it was difficult to justify the coach’s actions based on the video and urged both the coach and the school to address the public. He also called for clearer boundaries on corporal punishment in schools.

Yung has played over 250 games for Hong Kong between 1990 and 2006, during which he earned the nickname the “Three-point King of Asia.”

After retiring from the Hong Kong team in 2006, he transitioned into a television basketball commentator and a coach for school basketball teams.
 

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