Special needs school under leading Hong Kong body involved in care for mentally disabled latest to face mistreatment allegations
- Education Bureau confirms raft of complaints filed against Hong Chi Pinehill No 2 School in Tai Po, run by the Hong Chi Association
- Accusations come two days after police make further arrests over child abuse allegations at care home managed by leading charity Po Leung Kuk
A special needs school run by one of Hong Kong’s most prominent bodies involved in care for the mentally disabled is under police scrutiny over suspected mistreatment of students.
The Education Bureau on Sunday said it had received a raft of complaints against Hong Chi Pinehill No 2 School in Tai Po over allegations of “administrative impropriety” and “inappropriate treatment of students by staff”.
The accusations came to light in a report by a Chinese-language paper, two days after police made further arrests over abuse scandals involving a residential childcare service managed by leading charity Po Leung Kuk.
In the latest case, the media outlet published unverified photos, reportedly provided by parents, that showed a student struggling to remove a jacket thrown over his or her head. Another picture showed someone placing a cloth over a student’s face. The report also cited a parent as saying that a student had suffered bruises from wrist wraps.
In a reply to the Post on Sunday, a bureau spokesman stopped short of confirming details of the allegations, but said it had “instructed the organising body and school to follow up seriously and required them to submit an investigation report”.
“It is learned that police are following up on some of the cases and the Education Bureau finds it inappropriate to comment further,” he said.
A spokesman for the Hong Chi Association, which runs the school in question, said it had passed on the photographs to police for investigation and would cooperate with law enforcement.