Family protests outside kindergarten in China after sudden death of 5-year-old boy
Early last month (March), a family in eastern China stood in front of a kindergarten with a banner that read, “give us the truth, and justice for our child”.
They wanted the truth behind the death of a five-year-old boy named Zhao, who died unexpectedly during his lunch break on March 2 in Anhui province.
The boy’s mother, Liu, who was holding a portrait of her son, believed the true cause of Zhao’s death had been obscured, according to Btime.com, said the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was sudden pulmonary oedema, a condition caused by excess fluid in the lungs. But the autopsy also said there had been no inflammation, poisoning, or underlying heart conditions, which are common causes of the disease.
Ms Liu refused to accept the results and said her son had been healthy. She also accused some teachers of not following through when the child was in an emergency.
When the boy’s grandmother dropped him off at school that morning, his temperature was normal during check-in, and everything seemed fine.
At noon, the grandmother received a call from the boy’s teacher, who said Zhao was sleepy and had been sent to take a nap.
“The teacher said he was negligent because he never revisited my son after he put him to bed,” said Ms Liu. “When the teacher called the child’s grandmother, he did not say anything about whether the child was feeling uncomfortable.”
Then, at 2pm, the school called Ms Liu and said Zhao had a nosebleed. The couple rushed to the kindergarten only to discover their son was lying in bed unconscious.
The paramedics were called, but the boy had died by the time they arrived.
The case is now under investigation.
According to SCMP, many kindergartens in China have been plagued by problems in recent years, and some parents are hesitant to send their young children to school.
Last week (March 30), a kindergarten in Sichuan province was caught feeding mouldy vegetables and expired food to children.
Also last week, a mother reported that her son’s kindergarten teacher slapped and shoved her boy.
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