A 17-year-old part-time tutor was arrested last week for the alleged sexual assault of four primary schoolgirls at a tutorial centre in the northern district, Judiciary Police (PJ) spokesman Lai Chio Hong said at a special press conference on Sunday.
The local suspect surnamed Chao studies at a secondary school in the northern district.
According to Lai, a girl told the centre’s person in charge on Thursday that she had been sexually assaulted by the tutor. The person in charge immediately suspended the tutor and informed the girl’s parents.
Lai said the centre’s person in charge reported the incident to the police on the following day saying that a male part-time tutor surnamed Chao touched the private parts of a primary schoolgirl.
The Judiciary Police’s Youth Concern Group then contacted the secondary school where Chao is studying and told him to report to a police station for follow-up investigation.
Under questioning, Chao told the police that he started his part-time job in the centre early this month. He admitted that he repeatedly touched the girl’s private parts over her clothes.
Lai said that the person in charge also informed the police that Chao was suspected of having sexually assaulted another three girls at the centre.
The police notified the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) of the four cases and informed Chao’s secondary school about the investigation, Lai said.
Chao was transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP) on Sunday, facing child sexual abuse charges, according to Lai.
Macau’s minimum age of criminal responsibility is 16. The suspect faces between one and eight years behind bars.
Meanwhile, the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (DSEJ) said in a statement on Sunday that it strongly condemns the four cases.
‘Intentionally’ disregarding regulations
The bureau also said that the centre had failed to officially report the hiring of the suspect, thereby “intentionally” disregarding official regulations. The centre’s operation has been suspended with immediate effect, according to Sunday’s statement.
The bureau said that it was highly concerned about the incident and immediately sent officials to the centre to follow up. The person in charge of the centre admitted that he or she did not report to the bureau as required when hiring the suspect at the beginning of this month and firing him after the incident.
The statement did not reveal the gender of the person in charge.
The bureau also said that the safety of pupils had been affected by the centre failing to report to the bureau the hiring of new staff. The bureau urged the centre to improve its measures to ensure pupils’ safety.
In addition, the bureau said it made immediate arrangements for pupils and parents to provide them with support and counselling services. The bureau pointed out that there are 403 tutorial centres in Macau and that DSEJ officials have been conducting regular inspections. The bureau inspected the tutorial centre hit by the four sexual assault cases seven times this year, and the suspect was never there during the inspections, according to the statement.
The bureau said that a meeting will be held with the heads of a number of tutorial centres this week to remind them of their utmost responsibility to ensure their pupils’ safety.
The 17-year-old hooded sexual assault suspect is escorted by Judiciary Police (PJ) officers from the PJ headquarters in Zape to a vehicle on Sunday. Photo: Iong Tat Choi
