Chinese teacher detained for allegedly poisoning 23 children

Beijing: A kindergarten teacher has been detained for allegedly poisoning 23 children with nitrite in China's Henan province.

According to the state media, several children at Jiaozuo's Mengmeng kindergarten were hospitalised for fainting and vomiting.

Most of them had left the hospital after recovery, said the report.

One parent surnamed Li said that he received a kindergarten teacher's call saying that his child vomited and fainted after eating something on March 25, the Global Times reported.

His child was unconscious when he arrived. "The vomit was all over (my child's) pants. There were other children who were also throwing up, and they looked pale," said Li was quoted as saying by the state media.

Investigation on

Other children were sent to the hospital and another parent surnamed Hu said that the hospital had to flush his child's stomach. Hu's child was diagnosed with "poisoning by nitrite".

Nitrite is a carcinogen and heavy metal, which harms the liver and kidney after ingestion.

The victims were all from the same grade. They all ate a certain porridge, which was supposed to taste sweet. "But the children said the porridge tasted salty," said one parent.

After an investigation, the police found that a teacher in the kindergarten put nitrite in the children's porridge that day, which may have led to the children's illness.

The local public security bureau in Jiaozuo has detained the teacher, said the report.

Employees at the Jiaozuo's education bureau are also investigating the case and already sent the children to other kindergartens.