Secretary for Education Christine Choi Yuk-lin on Sunday reiterated that the death of a St. Paul’s College student during the mainland exchange was unrelated to exchange activities, following a similar statement made weeks ago.
The school confirmed on social media that the Form Five student passed away while participating in an exchange program in Hangzhou on March 1, with sources revealing that the boy died by suicide.
In response to rumors surrounding the tragedy, the education chief stressed that the investigation had been concluded.
A petition last week urged the school to disclose the investigation results but later retrieved.
Separately, Choi noted that the government had formed a task force to coordinate diet and transportation arrangements for students and teachers who developed acute gastroenteritis symptoms on March 3 during an exchange tour in Shaoguan, Guangdong.
Infectious disease specialist Wilson Lam Wai-shun suggested that students on the three exchange tours to the mainland might have been infected before they left Hong Kong.
