A female kindergarten teacher has been executed in China for poisoning 25 children, one of whom she killed, by contaminating their porridge ‘in revenge’ over a row with her colleague.
Wang Yun, 39, was arrested and later sentenced to death after she poisoned young students from the Mengmeng Pre-school Education in Jiaozuo, four years ago.
Wang had adulterated the breakfast of her colleague’s pupils with sodium nitrite ‘in revenge after arguing with the co-worker’, the local authorities said at the time.
The teacher appealed her death sentence handed down in September 2020 by the Jiaozuo city intermediate people’s court, in Henan province, but it was unsuccessful.
On Thursday July 14 2023, the same court verified Wang’s identity, escorted her to the execution ground, and carried out the death sentence, a court statement said, according to state media.
Wang purchased the sodium nitrite in March 2019 after falling out with her colleague, surnamed Sun, over ‘student management issues’, the Jiaozuo court said at the time of her arrest.
The next morning she added some of the chemical compound – which is commonly used as a food preservative but can be toxic and possibly fatal from overexposure – into the children’s ‘eight treasures porridge’, the court ruled, according to state media.
‘Eight treasures porridge’ is a sweet-flavoured rice-based porridge which is very popular in China.
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 on March 27, 2019.
Authorities later found that a total of 25 children were poisoned during the incident that shocked China and triggered global headlines.
At the time, parents rushed to Jiaozuo No.2 People’s Hospital where all children had their stomachs pumped and received urgent medical support.
One father, surnamed Li, told reporters at the time that he received a call from the principal that his four-year-old daughter felt sick after breakfast.
‘When I arrived at the school, my daughter had already passed out,’ he said.
Another parent said: ‘My child said the porridge tasted bitter and salty when it was supposed to taste sweet.’
In January 2020, one of the children died of multiple organ failure caused by poisoning after spending 10 months in hospital. Another 23 suffered minor injuries, according to the court.
The teacher, who was described by the court as ‘despicable and vicious’, was also found poisoning her husband in 2017 by putting sodium nitrite in his cup. He suffered minor injuries after drinking the water.