Former kindergarten teacher's jail sentence for child abuse upheld

Beijing's No 3 Intermediate People's Court on June 11 upheld the sentence of a former kindergarten teacher, surnamed Liu to 18 months in jail for child abuse and ordered the teacher to be banned from working in child care for five years, Beijing Evening News reported on June 18.

After a second trial, the court ruled that as a kindergarten teacher, Liu failed to shoulder her responsibility of looking after, protecting and educating students and used needles to hurt children. Her behaviors breached the Criminal Law in abusing children.

Liu was sentenced to jail on Dec 28 after she used needle-like objects to "discipline" four students in November 2017, "which brought physical and psychological damage to the children", according to the court.

Liu appealed to the intermediate people's court and said the investigators used illegal ways to obtain her confession of guilt. Her colleagues and four victims didn't testify and she asked the court to acquit her due to lack of evidence.

The Beijing No 3 Intermediate Court accessed the police's interrogation video of Liu, showing that Liu confessed without coercion and voluntarily, with a handwritten confession provided. Four victims and parents also had relevant charges.

Liu, who worked at the Beijing RYB kindergarten in Chaoyang district's Xintiandi community, was detained on Dec 29, 2017 after the parents of four children - all aged around 3 - found needle marks on the children's bodies.

Prosecutors charged her with child abuse in May last year.

A citywide safety inspection of kindergartens was conducted once the case was exposed, with the Beijing Education Commission ordering all institutions to make immediate improvements and reduce potential risks.