Three Chinese teachers detained for ‘stabbing kindergartners with toothpicks’
- Parents say their children were warned that if they reported the abuse they would be punished even more
- School’s legal representative dismisses claims of wrongdoing by teachers
Three kindergarten teachers in northeast China have been detained on suspicion of physically abusing pupils in their care, including stabbing them with toothpicks, according to local media reports.
Police in Shenyang, Liaoning province, launched an investigation into the Kubeiland Emile International Kindergarten after receiving complaints from parents that at least 15 of its pupils had been abused by staff.
“They [pupils] would be pricked if they couldn’t finish their meal, or moved during nap time or didn’t dance well,” one parent was quoted as saying by China Business Journal.
The youngsters were even warned that if they spoke out about the punishments they received there would be worse to come, another parent said.
Several parents had medical records and photographs showing multiple prick marks on their children’s hands, legs, bottoms and abdomens, the report said.
Another parent said the school even tried to cover up the abuse by sending children who bled after being pricked to the school clinic to have their wounds cleaned up and sterilised.