The story of a woman secondary school teacher in Shanghai who was suspended after her husband exposed her alleged affair with a 16-year-old student in her class has gone super viral on mainland social media.

In the space of just 19 hours, the hashtag for the story topped Weibo’s trending list and had attracted 2.5 billion views and nearly five million shares by Feb 19.

On Feb 16, a man, surnamed Wu, who said he was the husband of the teacher called Zhang Yue, who is believed to be in her 30s, posted WeChat records of her flirting with a 16-year-old student.

According to screenshots circulating on mainland social media, Wu revealed that his wife, a chemistry teacher and first-year form tutor at the Shanghai No. 2 Secondary School, was “having sex with her 16-year-old student”.

The husband claimed that in the chat records between Zhang and the teenage boy, they allegedly discussed where they could date secretly, and the possibility of “getting a hotel room”.

The teacher also called the boy by his name in the messages, vowing to “control herself” until he becomes an adult, and instructing him to delete their chat records to prevent anyone from finding out about their relationship.

On Feb 19, the school announced it had suspended the teacher immediately, and was investigating the case.

A lawyer at Jiangsu FDDH Law Firm, Lan Tianbin, told the mainland media outlet Modern Express that the teacher had not broken the law if the student was over 16 years old.

Chinese law only bans sexual relations with minors under the age of 14.

However, Lan pointed out that it was against teachers’ professional ethics to have sex with their students.

China’s Ministry of Education clearly states that any form of sexual harassment or relationship between teacher and student is unethical behaviour, and the teacher may face dismissal as the most severe punishment.

Lan pointed out that the teacher’s husband broke the law by posting the chat records and revealing her name and that of the student, violating their privacy and reputation.

The online community has largely criticised the teacher for taking advantage of her student.

A website specialising in love and romantic relationships, Love Matters, claimed teachers who engage in relationships with students were using love as an excuse to “manipulate” them into having sex.

The United States strictly prohibits sex between teachers and students even at university, where most students are adults.

Last year, a teaching assistant in Kentucky, Ellen Philips, was charged with third-degree rape after having sex with multiple boys between 14 and 16. She faces a minimum of 10 years in jail, according to the New York Post.

In 2014, a female teacher from eastern China’s Jiangsu province was sentenced to three years in prison for having sex with her junior secondary school student who was below the age of 14. – South China Morning Post