The father, named Lam, arrived at the central government offices on Thursday and requested a “direct dialogue” with the Secretary for Education, Christine Choi Yuk-lin, following another one-person protest outside the school last month.

Lam accused the school of failing to handle the issue properly for a teacher stood idly by at the time without intervening. He also criticized the school for not taking his son to a medical room for treatment or examination, violating guidelines issued by the Education Bureau.

He wore a white T-shirt with the Chinese words “zero tolerance for school violence” in red paint.

The brawl first broke out last November as Lam’s son, a secondary one student, was trying to recover lunch money from a secondary two student, but was assaulted instead. Lam’s son suffered a tooth luxation – meaning one of his teeth became loose, moved out of its normal position, and showed signs of post-trauma stress disorder after the fight.

As the controversy brewed for months, the school responded on the matter at last yesterday (Fri). Principal Wong said the remarks made to the media by Lam were untrue, and the school has sent Lam a lawyer’s letter to stop him from spreading false claims.

“We want this matter to be resolved peacefully and rationally,” Wong said.

Wong referred to a security camera video circulating online and said the rugby team teacher didn’t separate the two students in time as he was still recovering from a surgery finished months ago.

The teacher had immediately instructed two other students to intervene, and he had offered first-aid to the injured student immediately.

“I texted the involved students and parents that night and contacted different stakeholders, including legal professionals and the bureau the next morning,” Wong added.

Wong noted that the 14-year-old student attacker behaved well in school and proactively suggested apologizing to Lam’s son, believing he didn’t commit the bullying act on purpose.

She also said the punishment fit the principles of the bureau and carried a deterrent effect. She stressed that students should be given a chance to rehabilitate.

The student was arrested for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and cautioned by a police superintendent. He was also suspended from school for three days and deducted five disciplinary credits.