Hong Kong Polytechnic University student plans legal challenge against expulsion
- A university governing council member says Gerald Ho ‘acted like a triad member’
- Ho says his punishment is linked to his membership in a Hong Kong separatist group
A graduate student expelled from Polytechnic University last week is planning a legal challenge against the decision, and has called on the institution to be more transparent with its disciplinary action.
Gerald Ho Jun-him, who was in the final year of a master’s degree at the university’s nursing school, on Monday said he was innocent of accusations that he had assaulted staff. He also had not been allowed to hire a lawyer in his defence, he said.
Ho is a member of the Student Independence Union, a group promoting the idea of Hong Kong breaking away from China.
The decision to expel him on Friday came after disciplinary hearings against four students who were seen clashing with management staff last year. A member of the university’s governing council said the four had “acted like triad members”, and he urged PolyU to report the matter to police.
The other three sanctioned were: Lam Wing-hang, former student union president; Owan Li, a student representative on the governing council; and Hazel Cheng Yuet-ting, a former external vice-president of the student union. Lam was suspended for a year, Li given 120 hours of community service, and Cheng 60 hours.
A video from October shows the students rushing into the school management office and preventing vice-president Geoffrey Shen Qiping and dean of students Esmond Mok Chi-ming from leaving.
