Hong Kong education authorities launch investigation after teacher accused of sexual harassment of female pupils on trip to mainland China

“The school concerned has notified the Education Bureau of the incident and activated a crisis management team to deal with the incident,” a spokesman said.

He added action would be taken “if any violation of teachers’ professional ethics is found”.

The allegations became public knowledge after an Instagram page linked to the Tin Shui Wai school was used to publish several posts alleging pupils were harassed during the school trip and that the school had failed to take action.

The social media page accused the teacher of sexual harassment of at least four girls on a five-day trip he led to Changchun in Jilin province in the spring.

The teacher was said to have touched the hands and backs of pupils, poked their armpits and held their hands.

One post alleged the teacher had also held inappropriate conversations with girl pupils about pornography and Aids.

“It has been more than a month since the incident was first being dealt with, but no action has been taken against the teacher, such as suspension,” a post dated May 6 said.

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It added that the school had only “suspended the extracurricular and non-academic activities” led by the teacher.

“The school only held meetings with senior management and gave no explanations for the students,” the post said.

The trip involved a visit to Jilin University’s school of life sciences, which involved talks about genetic privacy and the treatment of tumours using microchip technology.

Changchun Municipal Bureau of Education, responsible for the university, said the Hong Kong school tour involved about 30 pupils and teachers, including the principal.

The Post has contacted the school for comment.