Boy admits possessing Ecstasy at school
A 16-year-old pupil at La Salle College has admitted possessing Ecstasy and a painkiller at the school.
Deputy Magistrate Hui Chun-sing ordered Cheung Kai-sum to undergo regular urine testing and requested a probation officer's report.
Cheung pleaded guilty yesterday in Kowloon City Court to possessing a dangerous drug and a part-one poison. He will be sentenced on September 16. Mr Hui granted Cheung HK$1,000 bail until the sentencing hearing.
A teacher and the school's head prefect discovered three tablets of the psychotropic drug Ecstasy and a plastic bag with 3.68 grams of a powder containing the painkiller mefenamic acid.
They noticed Cheung acting suspiciously in a corridor on April 3 just before 3pm. Suspecting he had cigarettes, the teacher took him to his office.
Cheung emptied his pockets, and the drugs were found.
Police were called and they arrested Cheung. The boy begged for a second chance and said he would not touch drugs again, but later, with a lawyer present, denied the offence.
School deputy principal Cecilia Tang Chung-pin said the Form Four pupil would return to school on September 1.
'After the incident, the student's performance at school and in the final examination was better than before. The school will give him a second chance,' Ms Tang said.
She said the school had anti-drug measures in place.
'We will invite the school supervisor of the drug rehabilitation school for young drug abusers - Christian Zheng Sheng College - to do a talk at our school in the coming academic year.'
The case comes as efforts are stepped up to combat drug abuse among youngsters in the community. The Hong Kong Playground Association will introduce a 'body check ambulance' for young people visiting entertainment venues.
'We will approach these young people to see if they want to have a chat first and then we will ask them if they are interested in doing a body check, which includes a simple blood pressure test, and heartbeat and lung function checks,' group social worker Li Wing-yee said.
The van would be parked in areas with many discos, karaoke bars, cybercafes and video-game centres.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, meanwhile, visited police headquarters in Wan Chai yesterday to learn more about action being taken to stamp out youth drug abuse.
Police statistics showed 609 youngsters were arrested in the first six months of the year for serious narcotics offences, a rise of 9.3 per cent over the same period last year.
Fourteen drug cases in schools, resulted in 24 pupils being arrested.
Secretary for Education Michael Suen Ming-yeung is expected to announce details today of a voluntary drug-testing pilot scheme, which will be first introduced in Tai Po.
