A nursery school teacher in China was sentenced to death after a court found her guilty of poisoning 25 children, including one who died.
A court in Jiaozuo city in the Henan province concluded Wang Yun, who was arrested in 2019 for the incident, put sodium nitrate into the breakfasts of another teacher’s students, according to the BBC.
Wang put the toxins into the breakfasts after she had an argument with the other teacher over student management issues, the court said.
At the time of the incident, reports said 23 children began vomiting and fainting after eating. Several students were quickly rushed to the hospital. One student died in January after spending 10 months in the hospital.
The court also noted that Wang had a history of poisoning other people, including her husband, whom she allegedly poisoned with nitrate she had bought online. Her husband suffered minor injuries from the incident.
The court described Wang as “despicable and vicious, and the consequences of her crimes were extremely serious, and she deserves to be severely punished.”
Amnesty International said China classifies its use of the death penalty as a state secret, but reports have predicted the country executes thousands of people each year. The sentence is typically carried out by lethal injection or by firing squad.
