Hong Kong police investigate allegation of rape of university student at orientation camp

Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu calls on schools to cooperate with police investigation

File: Hong Kong leader John Lee speaks during a flag-raising ceremony (AFP via Getty Images)

Police in Hong Kong on Tuesday were investigating allegations of rape of an 18-year-old Education University student at an orientation camp.

A 28-year-old man has been accused of allegedly sexually assaulting a junior student at a joint university orientation camp in Yuen Long in July.

The suspect is also allegedly involved in another incident of sexual harassment, where he has been accused of peeking into a third-year student's bath during a separate orientation camp held on Lantau Island last month.

Both the women were students of the Education University.

Authorities have classified the cases as rape and voyeurism but no arrests have been made so far, Radio Television Hong Kong reported.

The incidents were condemned by Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu, who called the acts “intolerable".

"If there is any behaviour that is illegal or that infringes on the rights of others, schools must cooperate with law enforcement to ensure that we can deal with such conduct,” Mr Lee said.

"If such behaviour does not breach the law but is in conflict with campus regulation, schools have responsibility to ensure discipline," he added, according to South China Morning Post.

The Education University on Tuesday said it would step up a task force to review the institute's management of student orientation camps in the wake of multiple sexual abuse allegations.

The university added it was cooperating with the police investigation and would initiate disciplinary action as it had a "zero-tolerance" policy towards sexual harassment.

Sammy Hui, the institution's dean of students, sent a letter to students and staff offering counselling services to those affected by the incident.

“I feel deeply saddened and disturbed, and wish to assure you that the university takes such matters, and their impact on students, extremely seriously,” Mr Hui was quoted by SCMP as saying.

A second-year University of Hong Kong student was earlier charged for allegedly sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman in an activity room at an orientation camp last month.