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SCMP Reporter

Four pupils killed, 16 people hurt, in rampage by cleaver-wielding teacher

Children were due to return to Guangyi Centre School in Hunan province  today - a week after a teacher stabbed four students to death.

Liu Hongwen, 28, thought to be suffering from mental illness, also wounded 12 students and four teachers in the school in Chenzhou , Linwu county, last Thursday.

The attack, which was not reported by mainland media until yesterday, was the fourth on schoolchildren on the mainland in two months.

Students were scheduled to resume lessons at the school today following the week-long National Day holidays.

Before being taken away by police, Liu reportedly told 64 students he had briefly held hostage: 'I am a good teacher. I am not a bad teacher'.

The attack happened about 11am  when Liu, who had been transferred to the school last month, dashed into a  classroom with a cleaver, attacking teacher Huang Dongzhuang , whose left ear was almost severed, according to the Southern Metropolis News and the Beijing News.

Seeing this, a six-year-old girl rushed out of the classroom, yelling: 'The teacher is killing people. The teacher is killing people.'

Liu chased the girl and killed her by hacking her several times about the head and body, then went to the neighbouring primary two classroom and attacked seven of the nine pupils, reports said.

With teachers trying to contain him, Liu entered a primary six classroom and briefly held 64 students hostage.

Eventually, Liu put down his cleaver and telephoned the Communist Party county secretary, Huang Ming , who rushed to the scene and negotiated with Liu for about 70 minutes.

Liu had reportedly written two wills and had begun crying during the negotiations, saying that his life was over after killing four people.

Liu, whose pregnant wife was about to deliver, surrendered at 2.20pm.

Injured students and teachers, many with head injuries, were immediately rushed to hospital.

A county education bureau official told the South China Morning Post: 'The follow-up work has been pretty good. The injured students have had special care. Some county units and the city finance bureau have arranged to give all students new bags and school uniforms'.

'Liu's family had been hiding the fact that Liu had a mental illness,' he added.

Locals said Liu had been dismissed from his previous two schools because  he was mentally disturbed. He reportedly had no official psychiatric history when he was hired at Guangyi Centre School. Officials from the school and county education bureau said  Liu's transfers had been routine and they  had not known about his problems.



Attack on children the fourth in two months