A kindergarten teacher from central China who poisoned 25 children, killing one of them, after an argument with a rival staff member, has now been sentenced to death by a court.
Death sentence
On September 28, the official ruling was read, and the Jiaozuo Intermediate People's Court in Henan province described the kindergarten teacher Wang Yun's motives as vicious and despicable. The ruling said that the killer teacher should be punished severely in accordance with the law.
The court heard that in the lead-up to the tragic poisoning incident, Wang had quarrelled with another teacher at the Jiaozuo kindergarten over how to best handle the students.
After the quarrel, on the morning of March 27, 2019, Wang added nitrite to porridge supplied by the school and intended for the other teacher's students. Wang is said to have bought the nitrite online.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, nitrite is toxic and a likely carcinogen used in fertilizers, food preservation and even munitions and explosives. At high levels, it can stop the human body from absorbing oxygen properly, and it can be fatal.
Wang had been caught in the past trying to poison her husband, surnamed Feng, in February 2017 after a heated argument. On that occasion, Wang poured nitrite into a glass that was used by Feng, resulting in minor injuries.
At the time of the kindergarten poisoning in 2019, one parent told Global Times, a Chinese state-run tabloid, that he had received a call from the kindergarten saying that his child had vomited and fainted. When he arrived at the kindergarten, his child was unconscious.
The father, whose surname was Li, said that the vomit of his child was all over his pants. He noted that there were other children who were also throwing up and that they looked really pale.
Allegations of needle injuries
Wang's sentence comes amid new allegations of the mistreatment of children at a kindergarten in northern China.
Eight parents have claimed that they found unknown needle marks on the heads and bodies of their children after they have returned from Zhaojun Dinggi Kindergarten in Hohhot, in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia, according to state media Xinhua.
Xinhua stated that when asked about the needle holes, the children told their parents that their teacher stabbed them with toothpicks and red needles for not behaving in class, and ordered them to not tell their families.
In an official statement, Xincheng district police said that three women had been detained on suspicion of torturing children under their guardianship, although the case remains under investigation.
The Dinggi kindergarten said in a statement that while the school apologized for the concern and worry caused to parents, it had not yet found any evidence to substantiate the claims.
The statement from the kindergarten read that they have cooperated with the police to provide relevant surveillance footage and equipment, and they have cooperated with the investigation by the public security department.
In November 2017, a kindergarten teacher from Beijing was sentenced to 18 months in prison for piercing four children in her class with needles. According to Global Times, the police said that the teacher, whose last name is Liu, was using the needles to "tame" children.
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