A kindergarten in Hong Kong has denied an allegation being investigated by police that a child was assaulted by a teacher, who reportedly held a protest-related role play.

Police are probing a mother’s complaint that her daughter was repeatedly hit by a member of staff at Tsing Yi Trade Association Tseung Kwan O Kindergarten.

Reports have emerged on social media that a teacher at the preschool asked a child, whose father serves in the force, to play the part of a police officer, while classmates acted as anti-government protesters.

The teacher was said to have hit the pupil’s chest 20 times because the child’s hands were not properly washed after the game, according to details of the mother’s complaint widely circulated on social media.

Police and protesters have been locking horns during Hong Kong’s long-running demonstrations. A kindergarten teacher decided to recreate some scenes, according to reports circulated online. Photo: Xiaomei Chen More

In a statement on Wednesday, Lam Yim-shan, head teacher of the preschool in Wo Ming Court, said they had received a flood of anonymous calls from people accusing the school of staging the role play and teaching children how to use laser devices, which have been commonly used during the protests gripping Hong Kong since June.

Lam said all of those accusations, as well as the alleged assault, were untrue. The school has informed police and the Education Bureau.

Lam later told the Post the kindergarten had not received any formal complaints from parents about the incident, and did not know if the complainant of the assault allegation was a parent at the preschool.

In an audio clip circulating online, a woman was heard recounting an alleged incident. The Post could not immediately verify the authenticity of the recording.

Speaking with a shaking voice, the woman said: “During a class, the teacher asked who has a police officer in their family.

“My daughter was a bit silly and said there are two officers in her family. And then the teacher hit her, and even beat her chest in the toilet.

“I only knew about this today. No wonder she was all happy about going to school for two weeks and then suddenly told me she didn’t want to go to school any more.”

A bureau spokeswoman said it had noted the school’s statement explaining the allegations were not true after looking into the matter.

She added the department would keep in contact with the school and provide appropriate support.

A district police investigation team in Tseung Kwan O was investigating. Police did not say if the mother who filed the complaint to them was the mother speaking in the audio clip.

Parents and guardians the Post spoke to at the school said they had not heard any complaints about the kindergarten before the allegations, and all found the school “very caring”.

“I won’t stop bringing the kids to school just because there’s a lot of news going around. I have confidence in this school,” said a woman surnamed Ng, who was picking up her granddaughter.

“Everyone is really happy, the kids are always trying to be first in line to go to class. The teachers are also really good.”

A mother in her 30s, surnamed Cheung, was disappointed to hear about the allegations.

“I think this kind of false information is unfair to educators,” she said.

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