Chinese kindergarten teacher is sentenced to death for poisoning 25 children ‘in revenge’ after having an argument with her colleague
- Wang Yun was arrested in Jiaozuo, Henan province after the incident last year
- The teacher was found poisoning 25 kindergarten children, one of whom died
- She put sodium nitrite in the students’ breakfast after a fallout with her colleague
- Wang had previously poisoned her husband after an argument, the court said
A kindergarten teacher has been sentenced to death in central China for poisoning 25 nursery children, one of whom died.
Wang Yun was arrested in Jiaozuo after the young pupils were rushed to hospital after eating their morning porridge.
Wang put sodium nitrite in the breakfast of her colleague’s students ‘in revenge after arguing with the co-worker’, the local authorities said on Monday.
A kindergarten teacher has been sentenced to death in central China after she was found poisoning 25 nursery children, one of whom died, a court says. The file photo shows students wearing face masks arriving at a primary school in Beijing on September 7
Wang’s sentence comes police in China’s Inner Mongolia have arrested three nursery teachers today after they allegedly used needles to stab the children.
The incident occurred on March 27 last year after Wang had a fallout with her colleague, known by her surname Sun, over ‘student management issues’, the Jiaozuo court said in a statement.
The nursery teacher then adulterated the food prepared for Sun’s students with sodium nitrite, which is commonly used as a food preservative but can be toxic and possibly fatal from overexposure.
It was reported at the time that 23 children began vomiting and fainting after eating their breakfast. Police launched an investigation after Wang was accused of poisoning the students.
Authorities later found that a total of 25 children were poisoned during the incident that shocked China and triggered global headlines.
One child died died in January after spending 10 months in hospital. Another 23 suffered minor injuries, according to the court.
Schoolchildren in China have been the target of often fatal attacks by people bearing grudges or considered mentally ill. The file photo shows Chinese children lining up under the supervision of a teacher at a kindergarten playground in Beijing
Wang was also found poisoning her husband in 2017 by putting sodium nitrite in his cup. He suffered minor injuries after drinking the water.
The court said Wang was ‘despicable and vicious’, and she deserved to be severely punished as the consequences of her crimes were extremely serious.
She was sentenced to death and deprived of political rights for life.
Schoolchildren in China have been the target of often fatal attacks by people bearing grudges or considered mentally ill.
In 2002, 42 people, mostly schoolchildren, died after eating snacks laced with rat poison in the eastern city of Nanjing. The killer, who apparently was jealous of his rivals’ thriving business, was swiftly sentenced to death and executed.