A Chinese court has sentenced a nursery teacher to death for poisoning 25 children, one of whom died.
Wang Yun was arrested last year after children at a kindergarten in Jiaozuo were rushed to hospital after eating their morning porridge.
The court said she put sodium nitrite in the breakfast of her colleague’s students for revenge after a fallout.
It described Yun as “despicable and vicious”.
The incident on 27 March last year shocked China and made global headlines.
At the time, it was reported 23 children began vomiting and fainting after eating their breakfast. A police probe was triggered after allegations the teacher had poisoned them.
On Monday Yun was sentenced to death by a local court in Jiaozuo.
In a statement the court said she had put sodium nitrite into the porridge of the young students of another teacher in “revenge” after they had “argued over student management issues”.
Sodium nitrite is often used to cure meat but can be toxic when used in high dosages.
The court also said that it was not the first that Yun had poisoned people, referencing an earlier incident where she bought nitrite online and poisoned her husband who suffered minor injuries.
It noted that Yun was “despicable and vicious, and the consequences of her crimes were extremely serious, and she deserves to be severely punished.”
Yun’s sentence will be carried out by lethal injection or by firing squad.
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