Teacher beat girl who died, police say

A 10-year-old girl who died in Cangxi county, Sichuan province, on Thursday received corporal punishment from her teacher before her death, Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday.

Preliminary investigations by police found that the girl surnamed Zhang, who was a fifth grader at a primary school in Guangyuan, was punished by her math teacher, surnamed Wang, on Thursday morning because she had been unable to answer questions correctly, Xinhua said. Thursday was Teachers' Day in China.

Eight students were punished that morning. Zhang was beaten on her palms four times and told to kneel for five minutes.

The report said Zhang felt dizzy after the punishment and was sent to hospital by her grandmother and the teacher. She died around 3:30 pm that day.

Medical experts conducted a basic examination on Zhang's body on Friday and found no wounds. Further investigation into the cause of her death is underway.

The Cangxi government has set up a task force, and Wang has been suspended from work as police investigate the case. The principal of the school, surnamed Yan, was also suspended by the local education authority and is under investigation.

A work group from the Cangxi education bureau was dispatched to the school to keep order on campus. Psychological specialists were deployed to help students and their family members.

The grandmother of the student, Yang Juqing, told local media on Friday that the girl had a twin sister who was in the same class. The sister witnessed the teacher punishing the girl and told Yang that Zhang looked close to fainting during the punishment, according to reports.

After she was punished, classmates helped Zhang to her seat. At 11:09 am, Yang received a call from Wang asking her to take Zhang home.

Yang told local media that when she arrived at the school, Zhang was already unable to speak or open her eyes, and rescue measures at the hospital couldn't save her life.

She added that her granddaughter had mentioned she was scared of her math teacher because Wang often beat students.