Tutorial center operator is charged with abusing two male students multiple times for about two years
A child cycles past a Chinese national flag in Hong Kong on May 8, 2022. The city has seen a rise in child abuse cases in recent times. (Photo: AFP)
A Hong Kong court has remanded a tutorial center operator into custody after he was charged by the police for sexually abusing two underage male student siblings for almost two years, a report says.
The Kowloon City Magistrates’ Courts on Aug. 28 remanded Yu Hey-tsit, 43, for sexually abusing two brothers aged nine and 12, the Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported on Aug. 29.
Yu faces charges of indecent assault, indecent conduct towards children under the age of 16, and making child pornography, the police said.
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The court did not take any plea from Yu and remanded him until Nov. 15, when the case will be heard again.
The police told media that the case was “still under investigation” by the Kowloon West Regional Child Abuse Investigation Unit and there “might be other victims.”
The unit has asked the public to contact it to report any similar cases.
Reportedly, the unit has begun an investigation and started contacting some 20 other students at the tutorial center located at Mei Foo Sun Chuen to uncover other potential cases of child sexual abuse.
The details of the abuse by Yu were revealed last week when the duo refused to attend classes and told their families that they had been sexually assaulted multiple times over the past two years.
The children’s family members filed a police report afterward.
The operator was arrested on Aug. 25 and three mobile phones were seized from him. On investigating the contents of the phone, the police discovered photos and videos of the two brothers, HKFP reported.
Following Yu’s arrest, a notice appeared on the center informing of its closure.
"We are sorry that the center has decided to cease operation and all classes are canceled from today," The Standard reported citing the notice.
Hong Kong’s Educational Bureau has pointed out that the center was not a registered school under the Education Ordinance.
The bureau refused to comment on the case citing the “ongoing legal proceeding.”
The center has also offered a refund of the tuition fee for the students who have not yet completed the classes, The Standard reported.
Locals said they were unaware of the incident and the tutorial school.
A resident going by the surname Mok stated that there were many tutorial schools in the area, and she was not familiar with the one involved in the case.
Mok said that she “had not heard about sexual assault incidents involving children at the center,” The Standard reported.
Families should look after their children carefully and “pay attention to their behaviors that may appear abnormal,” Mok added.
The number of child abuse cases in Hong Kong has seen a gradual increase, says official government data.
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, HKFP reported.
Under a proposed bill, practitioners in the social welfare, education, and healthcare sectors risk up to three months imprisonment and a fine of HK$50,000 (around US$6,373) if they fail to report suspected cases of child abuse “as soon as possible.”
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