Police in China detained a male teacher in eastern China on December 16 for 10 days after he allegedly groped a student’s face, forcibly hugged her and aggressively kissed her ear.
The scandal was exacerbated because the school in Shandong province hesitated to punish the 52-year-old teacher, surnamed Zheng, because he excelled at motivating students to achieve high exam scores.
When the school refused to take action, the victim turned to the internet and wrote about the experience on social media, which began to trend online, spurring authorities to detain Zheng.
The alleged incident occurred late on December 9 when Zheng drank alcohol before he went to fulfil his duties inspecting the school’s dormitories.
When Zheng arrived at the dorms, he reportedly found a girl alone in her room with her door unlocked because her classmates had all returned home for the weekend. He allegedly criticised the girl for not locking her doors but then began the sexual assault.
According to the girl’s post on social media, Zheng began to grope her face, use sexually aggressive language, and threaten her to “not turn me in”.
![When Zheng arrived at the dormitory, he discovered a girl alone in her room with her door unlocked as her classmates had all left for the weekend before the alleged attack occurred. Photo: Shutterstock](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/12/25/611aeadb-a3d7-4d77-b6df-b41132495674_1c4da95c.jpg?ssl=1)
During the attack, Zheng allegedly held the girl tightly and forcefully “put his mouth on her ear”.
The girl said she wanted to cry for help but found herself unable to make a sound and felt suffocated by the man.
The girl was saved from further attack by a school administrator who noticed something was wrong in the dormitories and turned on the lights to investigate the problem.
Zheng quickly fled the room when the lights were turned on.
After the alleged attack, the girl said she told her parents what happened, and they complained to the school administration.
![The school hesitated to take disciplinary action against the teacher, citing his valuable contributions to the students’ academic performance. Photo: Shutterstock](https://i0.wp.com/cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2023/12/25/98257961-4040-49dd-a8bf-583e6775b6e1_6f90a44d.jpg?ssl=1)
According to the girl, the school said Zheng was a valuable teacher and firing him would affect the performance of his students, who are preparing for next year’s university entrance exams.
The school also tried to censor the accusations, saying Zheng’s wife, who is also a teacher at the school, was innocent and did not deserve to have her reputation ruined.
School officials also hinted that Zheng could harm himself because of the damage to his public image.
The girl was not satisfied with the school’s reasoning, so she published her memories of the attack on social media, which quickly went viral.
The local police issued a detention order for Zheng on December 16, and the school and the education authority said they would punish the teacher after he is released from custody, the news report said.