Kedah Chinese High School Teacher Detained Over Alleged Sexual Harassment
"We want to reaffirm our stance of zero tolerance towards any behaviour that violates students' rights," said the school.
Cover image via Amid recent reports of sexual harassment cases involving Chinese independent high schools in Johor, a similar incident has surfaced in Kedah
In a statement on Sunday, 20 April, Keat Hwa Independent High School in Alor Setar confirmed that one of its teachers has been arrested by the police following allegations of sexual harassment involving a student.
According to the school's official statement, it received notice from the police about the teacher's arrest on Saturday, 19 April.
"As the principal is on medical leave, the vice-principal immediately took action — gathering information, notifying the Board of Directors, and forming a crisis response team comprised of board members, the Parent-Teacher Association, and school administrators," the school said.
Image via China Press
The crisis team held an emergency meeting at 10am on Sunday, and after understanding the situation, reached a consensus to release a public statement
"We want to reaffirm our stance of zero tolerance towards any behaviour that violates students' rights," the statement read.
The team said, in addition to being suspended, the accused teacher has also been prohibited from entering the school premises while the police investigation is ongoing.
"The school has also pledged to provide psychological support to the affected student and their family, ensuring their privacy is protected to prevent further trauma," it said.
The school has also promised to reinforce professional conduct standards among its staff, including implementing guidelines to prevent similar incidents in the future
Keat Hwa Independent High School also emphasised its full cooperation with the police and the Education Ministry in providing all required information.
The school said it will be holding another emergency briefing for its staff and students this morning, 21 April, and has invited the media for a press conference at 2pm on the same day.
This latest incident follows two separate sexual harassment cases reported earlier this month at two Chinese independent schools in Johor
At Foon Yew High School in Kulai, a male student was accused of selling pornographic material digitally generated from photos of his female classmates. The student was arrested on 8 April for investigation.
Meanwhile, according to Sin Chew Daily, at the school's Johor Bahru branch, a teacher had allegedly sent pornographic links to a female colleague and behaved inappropriately towards several female students. The teacher was remanded last Wednesday, 16 April, for investigation.
Keat Hwa Independent High School's statement can be found here:
Image via 吉华独立中学 (Facebook)
If you or someone you know may be at risk or has experienced sexual abuse or assault, please reach out to these Malaysian organisations:
1. WOMEN'S AID ORGANISATION (WAO)
Operating hours: 24-hour
Contact: +603-30008858
SMS/WhatsApp: +6018-9888058
Website | Facebook | Twitter
2. ALL WOMEN'S ACTION SOCIETY (AWAM)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9.30am – 5.30pm)
Contact: +603-78770224
WhatsApp/Telegram: +6016-2284221 | +6016-2374221
Email: telenita@awam.org.my
Website | Facebook | Twitter
3. WOMEN'S CENTRE FOR CHANGE PENANG (WCC PENANG)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am – 5pm)
Contact: +604-2280342 | +604-3988340
WhatsApp: +6011-31084001 | +6016-4180342
Email: wcc@wccpenang.org
Website | Facebook | Twitter
4. SARAWAK WOMEN FOR WOMEN SOCIETY (SWWS)
Operating hours: Monday (7pm – 9pm),Tuesday to Thursday (9.30am – 11.30am), Saturday (2pm – 4pm)
Contact: +6082-368853
SMS/WhatsApp: +6016-5822660 | +6013-8044285
Email: sarswws@gmail.com
Website | Facebook | Twitter
5. SABAH WOMEN'S ACTION-RESOURCE GROUP (SAWO)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (9am – 5pm)
Contact: +6088-280200 | +6011-27908020
Email: sawo.women@yahoo.com
Website | Facebook | Twitter
6. PROTECT AND SAVE THE CHILDREN (PS THE CHILDREN)
Operating hours: Monday to Friday (3pm – 12am)
WhatsApp: +6016-7213065
Email: protect@psthechildren.org.my
Website | Facebook | Twitter
7. INTERNET WATCH FOUNDATION (IWF)
Anonymously and confidentially report child sexual abuse content and non-photographic child sexual abuse images with IWF's Reporting Portal.
