Law enforcement agencies in Hong Kong investigate top primary school suspected of misappropriating funds collected from pupils for trips to Australia

Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School failed to follow official guidelines in arranging trips, Education Bureau says

School staff involved in misconduct have been disciplined, bureau says

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The scandal at Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School came to light in October. Photo: Google

Published: 8:28pm, 11 Apr 2019Updated: 10:38pm, 11 Apr 2019

Law enforcement bodies have been looking into the case of a top Hong Kong primary school suspected of misappropriating funds collected from pupils for overseas trips, the city’s education authority said on Thursday.

The Education Bureau said investigations by both itself and the governing board of Baptist (Sha Tin Wai) Lui Ming Choi Primary School found the school had failed to follow official guidelines in arranging the trips.

The bureau confirmed that school staff involved in misconduct had been disciplined.

“Some complaints related to [the trips] are being handled by other law enforcement organisations,” a bureau spokesman said. “After the investigations, the bureau will follow up based on the results.”

Money was reportedly collected to fund study tours to Australia. Photo: Reuters

The scandal came to light in October, after media reports claimed cash had been collected in Australian dollars amounting to HK$2.87 million (US$366,000), and a portion had gone to a teacher’s account. The money had been obtained from almost 200 pupils to fund nine study tours to Australia over the previous seven years.