Teachers at Chinese kindergarten in Italy arrested after hidden camera shows beatings of young children
- ‘No one told me that in Italy it is illegal to beat children,’ says teacher
- ‘Educational canes’ used to improve children’s sense of awareness
Two teachers were arrested at a Chinese-language kindergarten in Italy on suspicion of physically abusing 10 pupils between the ages of three and six, video website Pear Video said on Wednesday.
Surveillance camera footage purportedly shows the Chinese women – identified as 38-year-old Zheng Moli and 26-year-old Hong Pingping – kicking and hurling children to the floor, and using what appeared to be a cane to beat them.
One video showed an adult pushing a child to the floor before striking them with a stick. The pupils are all of Chinese ethnicity. It is not known if the suspects are of Chinese or Italian nationality.
The incidents were captured on camera at a kindergarten in the city of Prato in Tuscany, northern Italy. The preschool is located in Prato’s Chinatown area, newspaper La Repubblica reported on January 31 when the women were arrested.
Another staff member was under investigation by police, La Repubblica said.