China sentences two to death in fatal poisoning

BEIJING - A Chinese kindergarten headmaster and a man were sentenced to death in a poisoning case that left two girls dead, state media reported today (April 5).

The head of the kindergarten was upset that a rival school had better enrolments and injected rat poison into a bottle of yogurt. He then asked his accomplice to place it on the road in late April last year, China Central Television said.

Two sisters died after drinking the yogurt, which was placed with a notebook and a pencil in a plastic bag on the way to the other kindergarten in Pingshan County.

Shijiazhuang Intermediate People’s Court in northern China found both men guilty of poisoning and sentenced them to death, CCTV said.

It was not clear if the two will appeal. China’s supreme court must review all death sentences.

Kindergarten management has been problematic in China, with frequent reports of child abuse. Most recently, several kindergartens throughout China were found to be feeding unauthorized drugs to children in order to boost attendance rates. AP