Hong Kong tutorial school operator charged with child sexual abuse as police launch probe into centre

The operator of a Hong Kong tutorial centre has been charged with child sexual abuse after allegedly assaulting two students – brothers aged nine and 12 – for two years, a court has heard.

Police have meanwhile launched an investigation into whether 20 students at the learning centre, which is located at stage 4 of Mei Foo Sun Chuen, had been assaulted, local media reported.

Yu Hey-tsit, 43, appeared at the Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on Monday. He faces charges of indecent assault, indecent conduct towards children under the age of 16, and making child pornography.

No plea was taken from the defendant, who was remanded in custody until November 15, when the case will next be heard in court.

According to local media reports, the two brothers refused to attend tutorial classes last week, telling their family that they had been sexually assaulted multiple times over the past two years.

The children’s family members filed a police report afterwards.

Under investigation

Officers arrested the operator last Friday and seized electronic devices including three mobile phones, on which police said they found photographs and videos of the two brothers. The case will be handled by the Kowloon West Regional Child Abuse Investigation Unit.

The force told local media that the case was still under investigation, and did not rule out that there might be other victims.

The child abuse unit also called on the public to contact it to report any similar cases.

A notice taped on the door of the tutorial centre dated August 28 said it had closed and that all classes going forward had been cancelled “due to reasons,” although the reasons were not provided. Parents were told they could apply for refunds from the centre.

The Education Bureau told local media that the education centre was not registered, adding that it was inappropriate for the bureau to comment on the case as legal proceedings had begun.

According to Social Welfare Department statistics, there were 1,439 newly registered cases of child abuse in 2022, up from 1,367 the year before.

Under a proposed bill, practitioners in the social welfare, education and healthcare sectors risk three months’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$50,000 if they fail to report suspected cases of child abuse “as soon as possible.”