- Deputy head at Confucius Hall Secondary School in Causeway Bay put poem on Facebook
- But head says teacher did not know it was an acrostic poem aimed at city’s police force
The acting vice-principal of a Hong Kong secondary school has been suspended after sharing an acrostic poem on social media targeting police following an officer's infection with the coronavirus.
Confucius Hall Secondary School in Causeway Bay said an investigation task force had been set up to look into teacher Ho Pak-yan's case.
The first word of each of the Cantonese poem's 11 lines spelt out "black cops, hope your whole family dies and not one member less".
Part of the poem, which was widely shared across social media over the weekend, reads, "blackhearted is not such a good thing, cops are just doing their jobs", and "whole community should come together and fight the epidemic as the most effective thing to do, family's support is also very important".
But school head Yeung Wing-hon told the Post the teacher had mistakenly shared the poem on Saturday without realising the acrostic elements in it, and had immediately deleted the post once he had been notified of the problem.
Last Thursday, a riot police officer contracted Covid-19 for the first time and more than 50 others who attended a recent banquet with him were placed under quarantine.
"I have met Ho and he said he had posted (the poem) on Saturday night. By (Sunday) noon, someone told him that there were problems with the poem and he had immediately deleted it," Yeung said. "But it had already gone out.
"Ho said he had no idea at all (it was an acrostic poem)."
In a written statement on Monday, the school's incorporated management committee said Ho had been suspended pending investigation, adding that Ho's remarks were solely personal and he had not sought the school's approval before sharing the poem.
The school had always believed politics should not be brought into school premises, the statement added.
Yeung said the teacher had only posted the poem on his personal Facebook and it was supposed to just be seen by his friends, adding the suspension was a matter of procedure.
"If a person is under investigation, he or she would be suspended during the period and it usually takes one to two weeks," he said.
Ho's post was later being shared across other social media websites, with various users calling for others to lodge complaints to his school and the Education Bureau. The Post has contacted both Ho and the Education Bureau for comment.
The Professional Teachers' Union (PTU), and the Hong Kong Federation of Education Workers, both urged the school to investigate the teacher's case in a fair and just manner. The PTU also said it could help the teacher, depending on his needs.
Latest figures from the Education Bureau showed that out of 147 complaints received over teachers' behaviour between June and December last year, wrongdoing had been confirmed in 65 case.
Of those, follow-up action had been taken in 32 instances, including issuing warnings and condemnation letters.
Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung Yun-hung had previously said teachers' comments in private social media domains were also subjected to professional misconduct rules, because they could reflect a teacher's personality and value judgement.
Last month, a teacher at Tak Sun Secondary School in Ma On Shan was suspended for two weeks after referring to anti-government protesters as "cockroaches", and using foul language in front of students.
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