01 Investigation
Author: Zheng Jiaru
2020-10-20 07:00
Last update date: 2020-10-20 07:00
Hong Chi Association Songling Second School, a special school funded by the Education Bureau, which specializes in accepting severely mentally handicapped children, has had many serious school child accidents over the years.
After more than a year of investigation by "Hong Kong 01", it was revealed that children had their phalanx broken, separated for a long time or restrained in chairs due to rough treatment.
The reporter obtained a school accident record. The severely mentally handicapped student Kangzai (a pseudonym) had his throat turned black when he was fed in 2017. The reporter confirmed from multiple channels that Kangzai finally died of brain and was hospitalized.
Several former staff of the dormitory described that children with severe intellectual disabilities were unable to speak and tell their parents that they had been abused. The school management culture has long condoned and sheltered some staff who had handled school children improperly or brutally, causing many accidents.
A spokesperson for Hong Chi Association pointed out that due to personal privacy reasons, it was unable to respond to the case enquired by reporters. However, if the school has special circumstances, it will notify the incorporated management committee, school sponsoring body and the Education Bureau according to established procedures.
The Education Bureau replied that it had not received any complaints about the school's care of students in the past ten years, but the school had reported two incidents of school children.
01Investigation report on "Silent Scream"
Silent Shouts·Special Page｜Exposing the Shady of Multiple Student Accidents in the Dormitory of Special Schools with Serious Mental Disabilities
Silent Scream, One | Hong Chi Club Dormitory Mentally Handicapped Child Fractured by Finger
Silent Scream 2｜The mentally handicapped children in Hong Chi Club's dormitory have been locked in rooms and chairs for a long time
Silent Shout·3 | Hong Chi Association Mentally Handicapped Children Suffocated with Throat, Blackened Face and Brainstem Died in Hospital for Three Years
Silent Cry·Four | School dormitories and private homes repeatedly explode, expose system defects and take care of black holes
▼Hong Chi Association Songling Second School has many accidents in recent years▼
The most regrettable thing is that children can’t speak for themselves, can’t talk about the injuries they have suffered, and have a hard time talking.
When he saw the person who hurt him, he would always remember how painful he was.
Former staff of Hong Chi Association Pinehill Second School
Kangzai was only eight years old at the time of the accident
Like his classmates, Kangzai (pseudonym) is a severely mentally handicapped boy who was only eight years old when the throat accident occurred in 2017.
Because of the innate muscle development, Kangzai is also a physically handicapped child and does not have any self-care ability. The "Jianjia" living in Songling No. 2 School is a home for mentally handicapped and frail children.
Due to muscle energies, Kangzai will have short cramps and cannot eat on his own, and needs help from someone every day.
During lunch one day in August 2017, Kang Zi throated while feeding.
According to former staff A who once worked in the dormitory, because Kangzi is muscularly impaired, he behaves quietly on weekdays and does not scream or make physical movements like other severely mentally disabled children. The social workers in the dormitory responsible for feeding and other present The clerk, did not find out that he was choked in time.
▼Kangzai's throat accident school record▼
When the incident occurred
When someone noticed that Kangzi was abnormal, he had seen his face turned purple and black, and his head dropped to his chest.
"Hong Kong 01" obtained the school record at the time. A staff member of the Nursing Department filled in on August 7, 2017: "Hp Call at 11:45, (Kangzai) complexion, hands straight, face down, complexion and lips Turn black", "Hp" is House Parent, which is called by dormitory parents.
On the same day, another staff member of the dormitory also recorded separately: "If the lips turn black after meals, notify the staff and send to the hospital for treatment."
At the scene, someone tried to give first aid to Kang Tsai. The record showed: "Immediately lift the oxygen, press the CPR plate, use the recovery horizontal position, unblock the airway, draw sputum, spit out soup, continue to draw sputum, colleagues call the white car on behalf of the rescue The staff arrived and posted an AED. At that time (Kangzai) was still breathing and pulsed, so the ambulancemen did not use the AED."
The Fire Services Department confirmed to "Hong Kong 01" that at 11:48 a.m. that day, an emergency ambulance service was called, and it was reported that the respiratory tract of a boy was blocked by a foreign body in the second school of Hong Chi Pinehill.
The ambulance staff immediately provided first aid to the boy. The boy was taken by ambulance to Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po at 12:04 pm.
▼Hong Chi Association Pine Ridge Second School ▼
Brainstem died a few days after the throat and hospitalized so far
About one week after Kangzai was sent to the hospital, he was confirmed to be brainstem dead by the doctor. It is recommended to turn off the life-saving equipment.
During this period, Kangzai was transferred to the children's intensive care ward of the Wells Hospital. The reporter visited the hospital ward and confirmed that Kangzai was lying on the bed at the time. It was also confirmed from two different channels that Kangzai died of brainstem and has been hospitalized ever since.
After a record of the accident described above, the next update of the Kangzai school children record is six weeks later.
From then to mid-2019, Kangzai’s on-campus student record system was updated every few months to record every time staff members send diapers and wet wipes to the hospital to Kangzai.
Former Staff A stated that there was no nurse on duty at the school at the time of the incident, which is suspected of violating the Education Bureau’s Code of Aid for Special Schools. At least one nurse must be on duty at a boarding school at any time.
(Photo by Yang Rongfei)
After the incident, the house superintendent, social workers, and health workers resigned one after another
According to former employee A, at the time of the accident, there were no school nurses on duty in the dormitory. There were only two health workers in the school, including the staff who tried to give first aid in the above record.
After the incident, the then dormitory supervisor, the registered social worker involved in feeding at the time, and two health workers all resigned.
The reporter tried many times to contact the then housekeeper, but was rejected; he also tried to contact the family of the social worker involved but failed.
The Social Workers Registration Bureau records show that the social worker is still registered.
After the accident, Kang Chai was rushed to the Tai Po Nethersole Hospital and then transferred to the Prince of Wales Hospital for hospitalization.
(Profile Picture / Photo by Gong Jiasheng)
Someone who first came to work taught me where there is no CCTV.
There are people who do things that surprise themselves without CCTV.
Former staff of Hong Chi Association Pinehill Second School
School children often frightened former staff: Someone taught where there is no CCTV when entering the job
Former employee A, who has worked in the dormitory for many years, and social worker C, who was a parent of the dormitory, both pointed out that in addition to the general shortage of manpower, the frequent occurrence of accidents in the dormitory is that there are many senior staff who often treat students roughly.
There are many closed-circuit televisions installed in the dormitories of Hong Chi’s Pine Ridge Second School. A former employee pointed out that some employees would avoid closed-circuit television cameras and abuse school children.
(Photo by Zheng Jiaru)
"When you first come to work, someone will teach you where there is no CCTV." Former employee A said.
Since the bathroom is the only place where there is no CCTV surveillance, some children who are taken to the bath by certain staff will resist vigorously and be frightened.
The two also described that if they wanted to remove dandruff, shoulders, etc. for the schoolchildren, the schoolchildren would immediately retract and behave in a panic, suspecting that they had conditioned reflexes because they had been beaten.
"Seeing this person who hurt him, he will always remember how many pains he has." A said.
Former staff and social worker C of Hong Chi Association Songling No. 2 School pointed out that the school principal will deal with student accidents according to the level of parental concern.
(Photo by Deng Yingtao)
Employees use fear to govern and protect management
Former Staff A also believes that these staff "feel that this can scare them" and the school management also protects them.
Social worker C pointed out that the school principal will deal with student accidents according to the level of parental concern.
If parents are very nervous about their children’s school conditions, the school will give them better treatment. If there is an injury, the school will quickly fire employees.
Conversely, if the parents do not visit frequently and do not take the initiative to investigate, the incident will not stop.
He also pointed out that the school would distort the circumstances of accidents from time to time, so that parents should accept the school's words.
C scolded, "In the end, it was all monitored by a camera."
The three former staff interviewed all described that the biggest difficulty for students at Songling No. 2 School is that they cannot speak.
As not all parents visit frequently, and many parents are from the grassroots level, even when an accident occurs, they are unwilling to pursue complaints or even know that they can watch closed-circuit television recordings. They can only accept the principal's explanation.
School children can’t speak, and sometimes they can only resist certain staff or behaviors, but are dealt with by staff as "behavioral problems."
During the interview, former employee A couldn't help sighing: "If children can speak, many employees may have to go to prison."
Li Zhirong, a spokesperson for the Association of Parents of Severely Mentally Handicapped People, reminded that parents of children with intellectual disabilities must report to the school or staff as soon as they see the situation "wrong."
(Profile Picture / Photo by Huang Baoying)
Principal at the time: I have forgotten the past
Li Zhirong, a spokesperson for the Association of Parents of the Severely Mentally Handicapped, reminded that parents of children with intellectual disabilities must report to the school or staff as soon as they see the situation "not right." However, some parents may rarely visit their children because they are unable to accept their children with severe intellectual disability. Or inquire, even if children have accidents at school, they can only rely on the school to deal with it.
"Parents have to ask more questions, and the staff will pay attention." If the principal does not cooperate, he suggests that parents write to the school board and family churches, and finally contact the Education Bureau.
The reporter of "Hong Kong 01" contacted the former principal Lin Ziyuan, who retired in July this year, for inquiries, but when he called to reply, he pointed out that the past events had been forgotten, and asked the reporter to check with the school.
▼The incident occurred in the dormitory of Hong Chi Association of Tai Po Songling Second School▼
Hong Chi Association: Respect for privacy and not respond to cases
A Hong Chi Association spokesperson pointed out that in order to respect privacy, it was unable to respond in detail to the cases in which reporters enquired.
Generally speaking, if there are special circumstances, the incident needs to be notified to its incorporated management committee, school sponsoring body and the Education Bureau in accordance with established procedures.
The spokesperson also pointed out that the new principal understands the significance and responsibility of taking care of students with severe intellectual disabilities. He will know how to take care of others and lead the team to continue to work hard. At the same time, he will communicate more with parents so that students can take care of them and provide students with better quality and enjoyment. Study and living environment.
Education Bureau: The school has reported two accidents
A spokesman for the Education Bureau pointed out that Songling No. 2 School had reported two student accidents to the Bureau, but as usual, the details of the cases would not be disclosed.
According to the "School Administration Manual", if any serious or life-threatening accident occurs, the school must take safety as the primary consideration, activate the crisis management mechanism, evaluate the situation and take appropriate actions.
The school must also notify the parents concerned immediately, notify the Education Bureau and submit a written report explaining the details of the accident.
The bureau did not respond to whether it was aware of the incident.
01 Special page for investigating the "Silent Scream" investigation report: uncovering multiple student accidents in the dormitory of a special school with severe mental disabilities
Silent Scream, One | Hong Chi Club Dormitory Mentally Handicapped Child Fractured by Finger
Silent Scream 2｜The mentally handicapped children in Hong Chi Club's dormitory have been locked in rooms and chairs for a long time
Silent Cry·Four | School dormitories and private homes repeatedly explode, expose system defects and take care of black holes
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