Seven children freeze to death in Hubei orphanage
Hubei officials are investigating after online post quotes a worker saying the director refused to turn on the heat to save money
The death of seven orphans in Shiyan , Hubei , in the past four months has added more fuel to concern about the protection of children.
An online posting said the children had died from the cold after the public orphanage turned off the heat to save money.
But the Shiyan city government rejected the claim last night, saying that initial investigation suggested the children had died from illnesses.
The allegation quoted a woman who worked at the Shiyan Public Welfare House as saying all the children had gangrenous hands or feet because of frostbite.
She said the house's director refused to provide heating to save money for the 100,000 yuan (HK$123,000) in annual property management fees to the city's civil affairs bureau.
A photo of a teenage girl with bruises on her face was attached to the post, which also accused staff of maltreating the orphans.
Shiyan's city government said yesterday that the seven children, who died from October to January, were abandoned babies taken to the orphanage by police or strangers. Four had congenital heart disease, one was born without an anus, one was premature and one had cerebral palsy.