First graders assault female schoolmate

Two leaders of a primary school in Northwest China's Gansu province were removed from their posts after a female student was assaulted and injured by two classmates, attracting national attention online, according to a statement issued by the local education authority on Tuesday.

The statement by the education bureau of Ningxian county in Gansu said that investigations showed the two boys, surnamed Ma and Zhao and aged 7 and 6 respectively, suspected the 8-year-old girl, also surnamed Zhao, had stolen an eraser from Ma. She also had borrowed 1 yuan ($0.15) from Zhao and had yet to return the money.

All three are first-grade students at Yangzhuang Primary School in Ningxian county.

They pushed the girl and beat her up on Dec 14. After pushing the girl to the ground, the two boys used a broom to poke her vagina and beat her.

The girl's grandmother saw her injury and informed the school's principal, Yang Derong. After preliminary treatment in a local hospital, the girl was transferred to Xi'an Children's Hospital for further treatment. The hospital diagnosed her injury as a vaginal wall injury. She was discharged from hospital on Dec 19.

Two days later, she was admitted to a local hospital at her family's request. She was discharged from the hospital on Dec 30.

After investigating the case, local public security authorities decided not to punish the two boys, because they are under the age of 14. However, police ordered their guardians to strictly discipline them and bear civil responsibility.

The county's education authority admitted that the case "revealed weak links in school management and moral education for juveniles". It ordered all primary and middle schools to look into management issues and remove risks.

Meanwhile, the local authorities removed Yang from his post as school principal and gave him a warning. Li Jihong, the school's vice-principal, was removed from his post and given a demerit on his record.

Yang Zekun contributed to this story.