Chinese kindergartners hospitalised after being given antipsychotic medication
10 children in hospital after childcare worker adds drugs to their food
Ten kindergarten pupils in southern China have been hospitalised after a childcare worker placed antipsychotic medication in their food.
The 10 children from a private kindergarten in Dongguan, Guangdong province, were admitted to the hospital one by one since Wednesday last week. The suspect, surnamed Yang, was arrested by local police, according to a report by The Beijing News.
Through a preliminary examination, the police confirmed that Yang had placed antipsychotic medication in the children’s food at the kindergarten, the report said.
The report quoted a parent as saying that forensic analysts examined the children’s vomit and blood samples and found the medication was clozapine, a last-resort medication for schizophrenia.
Another parent said his child’s symptoms were severe, starting with circulatory shock.
The father added, “Then later at night, his heart rate became low and he was sweating. All of his clothes were soaked. This has never happened before.”
The 10 children have now been cleared to be discharged from the hospital.
The report sparked public outrage on the internet. A Web user wrote, “How was this person offered a job at the kindergarten? We need a strict screening process for kindergartens in recruiting employees.”
