20050727

Noisy school kids have mouths taped

Australian educational authorities are investigating claims that noisy school children had had their mouths taped shut to keep them quiet, officials said Tuesday.

Police said the children, from a Catholic primary school at Wollongong, about 50 miles south of Sydney, had been at rehearsals for a school concert when a volunteer working in the school hall asked them to be quiet.

When the noise continued, the unidentified volunteer then cut up 20 pieces of masking tape and told the children to put them on their mouths.

Police investigated the incident after the parents of one of the children complained but said it was unlikely they would take any further action.

The New South Wales (NSW) state Catholic Education Office is conducting its own investigation, NSW Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt said.

"If the incident occurred as it is reported, it is very, very concerning," Tebbutt told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

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