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Fiona Sun

A secondary school in Hong Kong has apologised after a teacher was criticised for citing the deadly Wang Fuk Court blaze as an example to urge students to take a fire drill seriously.
The MKMCF Ma Chan Duen Hey Memorial College in Tseung Kwan O on Tuesday said it was aware of the incident that took place last Friday and had initiated a crisis response plan.
“The school acknowledged that some individual faculty and staff had used inappropriate language and expressions, and expressed its deepest apologies for causing unease to the public,” it said in a statement.
“Following the incident, the school notified the Education Bureau and the school’s sponsoring body, and met the relevant faculty and staff to review and develop improvement plans to prevent similar incidents from recurring.”

The controversy erupted after a recording of the teacher’s remarks to students during a fire drill went viral on social media.
In the recording, the teacher could be heard saying: “If you imagine the Tai Po fire, you are among the victims, how many opportunities do you think you have to do drills?”
He was also heard urging students to “ask Tai Po residents whether they think that if they had taken fire drills seriously during their school days, the number of casualties might have been smaller”.
“So let me remind everyone again, fire drills are meant to train your attitude,” he said.
The comments sparked online criticism with some accusing the teacher of inappropriate behaviour and insensitivity towards the victims of the tragedy.
The school said it had required all faculty and staff, counsellors, social workers and educational psychologists to monitor the emotions of students so as to identify those in need and provide further support.
It added that parents had been notified and reminded to pay attention to their children’s emotional state, while being urged to maintain close communication with the school to ensure timely assistance could be provided.
The fire, which broke out on November 26 and raged for 43 hours, tore through seven of the eight blocks of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po, claiming 168 lives.


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Red-faced Hong Kong school sorry after teacher cites Tai Po blaze in fire drill

The MKMCF Ma Chan Duen Hey Memorial College initiated a crisis response plan over the inappropriate comments by a faculty member.  Photo: Handout

The deadly blaze at Wang Fuk Court claimed 168 lives. Photo: Sam Tsang

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The Wang Fuk Court fire claimed at least 168 lives and injured 79 in November last year. Photo: Elson Li

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An aerial view of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Seven of the estate’s eight blocks were devastated in a catastrophic fire last November. Photo: Sam Tsang

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News

Hong Kong

Education

MKMCF Ma Chan Duen Hey Memorial College says one of its staff used ‘inappropriate language and expressions’ and expresses deepest apologies


MKMCF Ma Chan Duen Hey Memorial College says one of its staff used ‘inappropriate language and expressions’ and expresses deepest apologies.


Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

Red-faced Hong Kong school sorry after teacher cites Tai Po blaze in fire drill

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}MKMCF Ma Chan Duen Hey Memorial College says one of its staff used ‘inappropriate language and expressions’ and expresses deepest apologies

MKMCF Ma Chan Duen Hey Memorial College says one of its staff used ‘inappropriate language and expressions’ and expresses deepest apologies