Teacher at Center of Kindergarten Abuse Scandal Gets 18 Months in Jail

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By Zhao Runhua / Dec 28, 2018 04:19 PM / Politics & Law

Photo: VCG

A former teacher at a Chinese kindergarten run by New York-listed RYB Education has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for child abuse.

In November 2017, Beijing police arrested Liu Yanan after multiple parents of students at one RYB kindergarten complained about finding needle marks on their children’s skin.

Investigators found that Liu had used needles to assault four of his students.

Liu will be prohibited from working with minors for five years after he serves his sentence or after the start of any parole, the court decided Friday.

Liu’s relatively light sentence, by a court in Beijing, disappointed many commenters on Chinese social media platform Weibo, who thought he deserved heavier punishment in order to send a strong message in a preschool education sector long haunted by abuses.

RYB Education said it respects the court's decision, and apologized "in shame" for the public anxiety caused by the scandal. Liu's response to the ruling is not available.

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