6 girls filmed vaping in Hong Kong school toilet, investigation under way

A video showing six schoolgirls puffing on e-cigarettes inside a school toilet cubicle in Hong Kong has gone viral, prompting education authorities to say they are “highly concerned” and contact the school.

The 20-second clip, titled “Six people gathered in one room for hotpot”, was posted on Threads, Meta’s microblogging platform, on Tuesday. The post said the video had been reposted from Snapchat, where it was filmed last week.

It shows six students in school uniforms crammed into a single toilet cubicle, with a Snapchat filter applied.

The girls are seen laughing and joking at first. But when the camera pans to a student standing behind the person filming, she is seen holding what appears to be an e-cigarette.

Realising she is on camera, she smiles and flashes a victory sign. The clip ends with all six girls striking the same pose in unison.

Online users said the uniforms in the clip appeared to be from a Po Leung Kuk secondary school in Tsuen Wan, with some identifying it as Po Leung Kuk Yao Ling Sun College.

Others said they had lodged complaints with the Education Bureau and the school, urging them to address the issue.

The bureau said it was highly concerned about the incident and had immediately contacted the school. It noted that the school had activated its crisis management mechanism and was following up under its discipline and counselling framework.

“The bureau has reminded the school to step up efforts to instil proper values and behaviour in students, and will stay in close contact with the school, providing appropriate advice and support,” it said.

Po Leung Kuk Yao Ling Sun College told the South China Morning Post that it was “highly concerned” about the online clip involving its students and had met the parents of those involved for “serious follow-up”.

The school said it was committed to nurturing students’ good character and had established discipline and counselling mechanisms to provide them with appropriate support and guidance.

The incident is the latest in a series of episodes involving students vaping at school.

In September, three 13-year-old girls in Kowloon Tong were questioned by police after teachers suspected them of vaping etomidate in a school toilet.

Last year, posts appearing to show students from AD&FD POHL Leung Sing Tak College, also in Tsuen Wan, went viral on Threads. They included photos of a girl smoking in a stairwell beside a bottle of alcohol and a video of boys in school uniform vaping in a toilet cubicle.

Under tightened tobacco control laws in force since April 30, possessing alternative smoking products, including vape pods, e-liquids and heat sticks, in public is an offence, even for personal use.