HK teen remains critical after hammer attack in UK school

A Hong Kong teenager remains in critical condition in hospital days after he and two others were allegedly bludgeoned by a 16-year-old boy in a dormitory at an upscale English boarding school.

The Hong Kong teen and a British male student suffered serious injuries in the hammer attack at Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon, in southwest England, on Friday, reports said.

The British boy is in stable condition.

A third victim, an adult male staff member, was discharged from hospital after suffering serious wounds.

The alleged attacker, a British boy, was charged with attempted murder and one count of causing grievous bodily harm, reports said.

He was mentioned in a court in Devon yesterday. Suspects under 18 cannot be identified under UK law.

Police were called to the school at 1am on Friday.

Sources said the suspect went into the dormitory and attacked the two boys with a hammer.

Officers said weapons were found at the scene.

Three days after the incident, Hong Kong's Immigration Department confirmed the teenager's family had sought its help.

"The department has contacted the Office of the Foreign Ministry's Commissioner in Hong Kong and the Chinese embassy in the United Kingdom to follow up on the incident, and has provided practical help according to the family's wishes," a spokesman said.

The department will maintain close communication with the family, he added.

It is understood that the father of the Hong Kong teenager wrote on Facebook on Sunday, saying his son had undergone surgery by a top neurosurgeon.

But his son remained unconscious following the surgery, he added.

He also called for prayers, while criticizing the school for trying to play down the incident.

"We had found a student who was willing to tell what happened, but today the student suddenly said he forgot everything," Facebook user Ai Hak said.

"I have no idea how the British government would pursue the school and the attacker."

But the post - in a private Facebook group for Hongkongers who immigrated to the UK - was later deleted.

In a letter to parents, the school's headteacher, Bart Wielenga, said the attack was an isolated incident and urged them not to speculate or post on social media.

Blundell's School's website says the boarding school was founded in 1604 after the death of Peter Blundell, one of the wealthiest England merchants at that time.

The mixed school - which has more than 600 students - costs 41,325 (HK$406,712) a year for senior boarders and more than 28,000 annually for those in years seven and eight.

Education consultant Samuel Chan Sze-ming, founder of Britannia StudyLink, said the school has not been a popular choice among Hong Kong parents. It just has a dozen students from the city, he added.

He said the school asked all 260 boarding students to leave the campus after Friday's attack.

"I heard from some parents with kids studying at the school that the students were so shocked but it was less likely that any of the boys were bullied," he said.

Despite the attack, Chan said some parents of students said they had no plans to transfer their children to other schools.

"The school itself is well-known for its positive school climate, as it is in southwest England, which is quite remote," said Chan.

The incident has sparked worries of Hong Kong parents who have children studying in the country.

A woman, Chan, said her younger sister, who is a Year 11 student, is in boarding school in Cambridge.

"I am quite worried about my sister though, but her school is a girls' school so I think it may be safer than coeducational ones," she said.

"I think it actually depends on the school's climate and whether the schools have enough house mistresses at the dormitory."

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com