A teacher has failed to return to Hong Kong after a study tour in Wuhan amid suggestions he was arrested by police in mainland China for visiting prostitutes, with education authorities requiring the man and his school to submit a report.
An Education Bureau spokesman on Tuesday refused to address the allegations, but said it attached great importance to the discipline of those joining the tour.
“The Education Bureau held a mainland study tour to Wuhan for new teachers from May 8 to 11,” he said. “The tour ended as scheduled. However, before the return trip, we were informed that one member could not return to Hong Kong with the tour.”
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The spokesman added that the teacher and his school were told to submit a report to education authorities.
The bureau would also closely liaise with the school, as well as comprehensively reviewing the relevant information and handling the case seriously, he said.
Internet users in WhatsApp groups and on LIHKG, an online forum in Hong Kong similar to Reddit, over the weekend claimed a secondary school teacher was arrested on the mainland in connection with a vice case.
Users also claimed the teacher was from a school in the New Territories.
The Post has contacted the school in question for comment.
The four-day study tour of Wuhan was organised for newly recruited teachers and included visits to local schools, speciality industries, high-end technology companies and institutions, among other events.
City leader John Lee Ka-chiu announced in his 2022 policy address that new teachers from publicly-funded schools would take part in study tours to the mainland.
The initiative was implemented last year as the last pandemic cross-border travel restrictions were lifted.
The Education Bureau said on Tuesday it had created a guideline and a handbook with mainland institutions for touring teachers, which included reminders to abide by local laws and regulations, and to be mindful of their behaviour.
The bureau has said it would “strictly follow up” in accordance with the established mechanism if any teachers were found to be in breach of professional ethics.
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