Hong Kong education bureau investigating principal seen swearing at security guards in S’pore

SINGAPORE – Hong Kong’s education authorities are reportedly investigating a secondary school principal after a viral video showed him swearing at security guards during a school trip to Singapore, Hong Kong media reported.

The video, which has gone viral, was posted on the Threads social media platform on May 23. It shows a man standing at the doorway of the bus and arguing with two women on the street who are wearing Safra security uniforms.

The women are heard saying that the bus has to move “behind”. The man then tells them to “shut up” and hurls several comments in Cantonese at them, including swear words, before making faces and taunting them to get on the bus.

A woman standing behind the man tries to pull him back to de-escalate the situation, but he shouts at her to “get out of (his) way”.

Netizens have identified the man as principal Lee Cheuk-hing of San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School in Hong Kong’s Tuen Mun district, Hong Kong media outlet HK01 reported.

About 35 students and some teachers from the school were in Singapore for an economics and technology study tour from May 20 to 24 when the incident occurred, HK01 reported.

The group was taking a bus to a Western restaurant in Jurong at about 6pm on May 22, with the bus stopping along double yellow lines to drop them off, Hong Kong education news site Edu Lancet reported.

Hong Kong’s education bureau told HK01 on May 24 that it is investigating the incident and has approached the school for a detailed written explanation.

A spokeswoman for the bureau said: “The school has activated its crisis management team to investigate the matter thoroughly. If a teacher were found to have breached professional conduct, the bureau would review the teacher’s registration and take appropriate action based on the nature and severity of the incident.”

She added that teachers and principals are role models for students, and that their words, actions, conduct and values have a profound impact on students.

Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers chairman and city legislative councillor Wong Kam-leung said in a radio programme on May 25 that he found the principal’s actions inappropriate.

“Leading students on exchange programmes is very stressful… but no matter what happens, educators should remain calm and restrained, and pay attention to professional ethics and image,” he said.

The manager of the school, Mr Edmund Wong Chun-sek, told the South China Morning Post on May 25 that the incident will be investigated, but that it is too early to decide whether any disciplinary action will be taken.

He added that the school’s priority was to ensure students on the trip were not affected by the incident.

On May 26, Safra confirmed that an incident involving a bus and its appointed security personnel took place at its Jurong recreational club on May 22.

It added that its appointed security company had lodged a police report.

“The security officers were carrying out their duties to manage traffic flow and ensure safe access to the club when a bus stopped near the main entrance and caused obstruction to other vehicles trying to enter the club premises,” said Safra.

“During the interaction, the security officers were verbally abused while performing their duties,” it said, adding that Safra takes a serious view of any abusive behaviour towards staff on duty.

When contacted, the police said a report had been lodged.

The Straits Times has contacted San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School for comment.

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