Woman who poisoned 25 children executed

A woman who poisoned 25 preschool children, leaving one dead, in Jiaozuo, Henan province, was executed on Thursday, according to Jiaozuo Intermediate People's Court.

The court confirmed the information on Friday to High Wind News, a media outlet based in Xi'an, Shaanxi province.

Wang Yun, the perpetrator of the poisoning case, was a teacher at a privately-owned kindergarten in Jiaozuo.

According to the court, Wang purchased a bag of sodium nitrite, a toxic substance harmful to human health, on Feb 17, 2017. On the evening of Feb 19, Wang, dissatisfied with her husband due to domestic issues, sought revenge by pouring some sodium nitrite into his water cup. The following morning, after drinking the water, her husband suffered from sodium nitrite poisoning, identified as a minor injury.

A separate conflict arose between Wang and another teacher surnamed Sun on March 26, 2019, regarding the management of students involved in a fight. Feeling that Sun had reported the incident to the kindergarten principal, Wang decided to seek revenge against Sun.

The next day, Wang carried the previously purchased sodium nitrite to the kindergarten and poured it into the porridge that was served to the children in the class managed by Sun.

As a result, 25 children experienced symptoms of sodium nitrite poisoning after consuming the porridge. Among them, one died on Jan 28, 2020, despite medical treatment. Twenty-three suffered minor injuries, and the injuries of the last one did not meet the criteria to be labeled as minor injuries.

On Sept 28, 2020, the Jiaozuo Intermediate People's Court sentenced Wang to death for her crime at the kindergarten.

After the initial trial, Wang appealed the verdict. The Henan Provincial High People's Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the original judgement.

The Supreme People's Court later approved the death sentence.

The death sentence in China must be submitted to the Supreme People's Court, China's top court, for review before the execution is carried out.