CHINA. – The owner of a kindergarten in China has been sentenced to life imprisonment after toxic substances were deliberately added to food served to children and staff.
Li Huifang, the person in charge of the Heshi Peixin kindergarten in Tianshui, in Gansu Province, was sentenced on Friday, 16 October by the Lanzhou Intermediate People's Court. The court found that she and the school's executive director, Zhu Jinglin, ordered that substances be added to food to make it more colourful and attractive.
The substances contained pigments with lead and were not intended for human use. They were added to baked goods to improve their appearance and increase the kindergarten's appeal.
The case came to light in July 2025 after blood tests showed abnormally high lead levels in 247 of the 251 children tested.
Lead exposure can have serious consequences for children's health, especially because it can damage the developing brain and nervous system.
The court sentenced Zhu to fifteen years imprisonment and imposed a fine of 300 000 yuan on him. Four kitchen workers who carried out the orders were each sentenced to between six and eight years imprisonment.
Li was also ordered to forfeit personal assets valued at 500 000 yuan. She was permanently stripped of political rights.
The case raised serious questions about food safety and the protection of children in educational institutions.
Sources: South China Morning Post; Xinhua; People's Daily.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
