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 teacher, Wang Yun, was arrested in Jiaozuo of Henan province 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 having an argument 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
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 children's food 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.
The incident , which shocked China and triggered global headlines, killed one child and left 23 with minor injuries, according to the court.
The student died in January after spending 10 months in hospital.
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.
