Hong Kong police help sought after boy, 13, allegedly slapped by teacher at Islamic learning centre, resulting in 6-hour eye operation
- Student left with detached retina with a 180-degree tear and advised to undergo two operations after alleged assault at Islamic learning centre
- City’s chief iman, Mufti Muhammad Arshad, condemns alleged attack, urges teachers to attend training on how to approach religious education
The family of a 13-year-old boy allegedly slapped by a teacher at an Islamic learning centre in Hong Kong, resulting in an eye injury that required six hours of surgery, have asked police to investigate.
The incident also prompted the city’s chief imam, Mufti Muhammad Arshad, to call for a meeting with teachers of the Islamic faith to remind them corporal punishment is not permitted when teaching the religion and illegal in Hong Kong.
Arshad, who spoke with the boy’s father, told the Post on Thursday the alleged assault occurred on Saturday morning at a learning centre that taught students the Koran. Most of the centre’s students were of Pakistani descent, including the 13-year-old boy, Arshad confirmed.
“The boy was learning to memorise the Koran and when he could not recite a verse, the teacher slapped him on the face,” Arshad said, adding that the victim was said to have been hit two or three times.
He said police had contacted him.
A Hospital Authority spokesman confirmed the boy underwent surgery on his left eye at Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Chai Wan on Wednesday.
“The boy is in a stable condition and has been hospitalised for close monitoring and treatment,” he said.
The spokesman also revealed that the boy’s family had reported the incident to police after seeking a doctor’s help and that Eastern Hospital had referred the case to its medical social worker.
Police said they had been in close contact with schools and related groups in Eastern district, and would provide help and conduct investigations in a timely manner if relevant reports were received.
The Muslim Council of Hong Kong revealed the alleged attack on Wednesday night and also urged teachers to treat students with compassion and parents to monitor their children’s well-being.
According to the council, the boy said his “left eye had something flying around in it” on Sunday evening, prompting his family to take him to Eastern Hospital the next morning.
Time for Hong Kong to do some soul-searching on its rising child abuse cases?
An eye specialist subsequently confirmed he had a detached retina with a 180-degree tear and was advised to undergo two operations, the first of which was carried out on Wednesday morning with the other scheduled for six months later.
Arshad condemned the alleged attack and said he had called all ustadhs – teachers in Arabic – to attend training on how to teach religious education in Hong Kong.
“We have to follow the rules of the Hong Kong government and emphasise the law on child protection and child abuse,” he said.
“That is why I am calling a meeting of all teachers, to train them and tell them of the rules in Hong Kong and of our religion, which does not allow the beating of students.”
A spokesman for the learning centre, who did not give his name, said it needed to talk to the parents first when approached by the Post.
Asked whether the boy was hit by the teacher and needed eye surgery, he said: “No, no, no, it’s not that, it’s not that kind of thing.”
But he added he knew the boy previously had problems with his eyes.
Hong Kong police investigate suspected abuse of 3-year-old girl at nursery school
On Wednesday night, the council shared screenshots of instant messages said to be from the boy’s sister.
“My brother has always had poor eye vision, he needs to get his eyes checked by specialists,” one of the messages said.
According to the messages, the sister said the centre had been told “multiple times” about her brother’s eye problems, adding that she believed he had been hit by the teacher before but did not tell his family.
The council said the student underwent a six-hour operation and that it was “deeply horrified” by images of him.
‘Cycle of pain’: plight of Hong Kong’s ethnic minority women in focus after tragedy
It also said it was in touch with the boy’s family, legal advisers and other Islamic organisation members to “treat this case very seriously and to not simply put it as a one-off ‘accidental’ case, because it is not”.
“There needs to be accountability of all imams, ustadhs and madrasa teachers to make sure they teach the youth with compassion, wisdom and as per the teachings of Allah and the Prophet,” the council wrote.
It also called for parents to monitor their children’s well-being and to not allow any physical, emotional or mental abuse to go unpunished.
A spokesman for the Social Welfare Department said it had received a referral concerning the boy on Thursday and a social worker had contacted the family. The department would hold a case conference to assess the boy’s needs, he said.
An Education Bureau spokeswoman said that while the centre was not a registered school, it was actively following up on the incident and would provide appropriate help if necessary.
