Hong Kong principal who taunted security staff at Safra Jurong suspended
The principal from Hong Kong who swore at security guards at Safra Jurong during a school trip to Singapore has been suspended.
The man, identified as Lee Cheuk-hing of San Wui Commercial Society Secondary School in Tuen Mun district, was caught on camera taunting security personnel over a parking dispute
It was earlier reported that the bus driver had illegally parked at a section of the road with double yellow lines, with the intention of dropping off students and faculty members for dinner at a restaurant at the clubhouse.
Speaking to South China Morning Post, Edmund Wong Chun-sek, a former lawmaker and manager of the school, said Lee’s behaviour had “fallen short of public expectations”.
According to Mr Wong, the decision was made after the management committee spoke to Lee and staff who were part of the trip on May 26.
“Though he said he wanted to protect the students, his actions did not meet what the public expects of a school principal,” he noted.
Previously, Hong Kong’s Education Bureau had demanded a written report from the school.
Incident could affect Singapore’s image: Transport company director
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Huang Yueping, the company director of Superior Tour — the tour bus operator — said they had been collaborating with the restaurant at Safra Jurong for years.
However, as the tour bus was too long and prohibited from parking within Safra Jurong’s premises, bus drivers typically stop along the road near the club entrance to let passengers off.
“There is no place for passengers to alight inside Safra, and if our buses are involved in a collision, we need to pay compensation. So we have no choice but to risk a parking ticket by stopping by the roadside, since it is convenient and not far from the club,” Mr Huang said.
The company director admitted that as the incident dragged on, it may damage the image of the local tourism industry.
“Our driver is from China and doesn’t understand English. The female security guards used English to communicate, so there was a language barrier. According to the driver, the female security guard involved didn’t have a good attitude and shouted at the passengers.
“The argument between the security guard and the principal could cast a shadow over our country’s tourism industry and could cause tourists to assume all workers in Singapore have the same attitude.”
Passer-by attempted to mediate
In the viral video, Lee shouts at two female security officer, ignoring instructions from one of the them to park at another drop-off point. The same officer then screams at Lee to “park behind” as he sticks out his tongue and teases the women.
A longer video of the altercation showed a female passer-by attempting to mediate the situation.
After a few students disembark, both security officers step forward to block the bus door, causing another standstill. The officer who shouted at Lee moments before can be seen telling a woman in a white tank top that the bus should be parked elsewhere.
“I listen to you. You are very polite. I like you,” Lee says as the passer-by explains in Chinese, taking another step off the bus and leaning in her direction.
Lee then asks the woman where the bus should be parked. When told “behind”, the principal replies “okay” before turning around and saying something to the security officer. As the video ends, Lee and a female passenger behind him retreats into the bus.
Principal’s outburst unlike usual personality: Students
San Wui students told Hong Kong news outlets that Lee’s outburst was unlike that of the principal they knew.
One student told News Now: “I think it’s best not to comment without knowing what caused the incident, but it’s not good for a principal to use vulgarities. He is usually easygoing, and he doesn’t feel like a principal with the way he presents himself. He rarely loses his temper at school, so I found this incident very weird.”
Another student said they heard from someone in the exchange group that their principal could have acted out as he wanted to defend his students from the security guard’s lashings.
Tour guide and bus driver insisted on disembarking
New security footage from within the bus revealed that the bus driver insisted passengers could disembark despite the security officers’ disapproval.
According to Shin Min, a man believed to be the tour guide announced through a microphone, “It’s time to eat Western food!” before alighting first.
The security officer stepped in after three students stepped off, saying, “I can’t let anyone alight here. If an accident happens, I’ll need to explain.”
During the standoff with the tour guide, he could purportedly be hard telling students, “Alight, just alight! there’s no issue, don’t worry about it.”
Seeing this, the security guard prevented students from alighting, leaving them stuck at the door and unable to move.
At the same time, the driver also urged the students to disembark, at which point, the principal stepped in, leading to the viral conflict.
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