A Chinese kindergarten teacher has been sentenced to death for an incident that poisoned 25 children, killing one.
A court in the central Chinese province of Henan has sentenced Wang Yun to death. The kindergarten teacher had a fight with her colleague on the morning of March 27, 2019.
Wang went on to pour sodium nitrite into porridge provided by the school to feed the children. She had purchased it online prior to the incident. The porridge was then served to her colleague's class. Used in fertilizers, food preservation, and explosives, large doses can stop the body from properly absorbing oxygen.
What's worse, it wasn't the first time Wang Yun had used nitrite to cause harm. Two years earlier, she was caught trying to poison her husband with the toxic chemical. Now, she will never have the chance to cause anyone harm again as the court slammed her "despicable" and "vicious" motives.
A Chinese kindergarten teacher has been sentenced to death for the poisoning of 25 children, one of whom died. On September 28, the Jiaozuo City Intermediate People's Court shared its ruling on the Mengmeng Kindergarten Poisoning case. The court sentenced Wang Yun to death.
Until that death sentence is carried out, Wang has lost political rights for the remainder of her life. On March 27, 2019, Wang had an argument with a colleague at the Mengmeng Kindergarten over student management issues. She then took pre-prepared sodium nitrite and poured it into porridge that was to be served to her colleague's class.
Sodium nitrite is a carcinogen and heavy metal, which in large doses can keep the body from properly absorbing oxygen. One parent described the scene when he went to pick his child up.
"The vomit was all over [the child's] pants. There were other children who were also throwing up, and they looked pale," the parent said.
Nearly all of the children vomited or fainted after eating the porridge. Fifteen children were quickly released from the hospital after being checked out. Ten more required additional care. One of the children who required additional care died after being hospitalized for 10 months.
The court also determined that Wang was aware of the damage the chemical, which she bought online, could cause. It wasn't the first time she'd been caught using it. On February 19, 2017, Wang put nitrite in her husband's cup after the couple had an argument. He had minor injuries from the incident.
The court condemned Wang harshly. It determined her "motives were despicable."
The sentencing statement said that her "criminal methods and circumstances were exceedingly bad, with especially severe circumstances, and she should be severely punished in accordance with the law."
It's unclear what method will be used to put her to death. Several outlets have reported lethal injection or death by firing squad are the most likely scenarios. The timeline for her death is also unknown.
She is not the only kindergarten teacher in the country who has found themselves in trouble with the law. Zhaojun Dingqi Kindergarten in Hohhot, in the autonomous region of Inner Mongolia of Northern China, is facing accusations of child mistreatment. The parents of eight children have reported unexplained needle marks on their kids' heads and bodies.
Students told their parents that their teacher was poking them with "toothpicks" and "red needles" when they misbehaved. She then ordered the children not to speak a word of the punishments to their parents. The Xincheng district police said three women had been detained on suspicion of "torturing children under their guardianship," according to a statement.
The investigation is ongoing. The school apologized to parents in a statement, although there's been no further substantiating evidence beyond the children's claims.
"At present, [we] have cooperated with the police to provide relevant surveillance footage and equipment, and cooperated with the investigation by the public security department."
