Photo: Screenshot of online video

A local court in Jiaozuo, Central China's Henan Province sentenced a kindergarten teacher, who poisoned 25 children and killed one with nitrite, to death.

The Jiaozuo's Intermediate People's Court on Monday sentenced Wang Yun, a teacher at the local Mengmeng Kindergarten, to death and deprived her of political rights for life. Wang and the person in charge of the kindergarten will jointly compensate plaintiffs of a civil suit. 

The court said Wang put nitrite in another teacher's students' porridge on March 27, 2019, after they argued over student management issues. 

Nitrite is a carcinogen and heavy metal, which harms the liver and kidney.

It was not the first time Wang had poisoned people, the court said.

Wang put nitrite she bought online in a cup used by her husband surnamed Feng on February 19, 2017 after the couple had argued. Feng suffered minor injuries after drinking the poison.

The court said Wang clearly knew that nitrite is a deadly poison and she deliberately tried to conceal her crime, which led to a public health safety incident that seriously worried local people.

The court noted that Wang is despicable and vicious, and the consequences of her crimes were extremely serious, and she deserves to be severely punished.

According to previous media reports in 2019, a parent of a child surnamed Li said that the head of the kindergarten called him on April 1, 2019 saying that his 4-year-old daughter started vomiting after eating porridge. When he arrives at the school, Li found his daughter and other students unconscious, the Beijing News reported. 

Another parent surnamed Hu said his child has to have his stomach pumped.

On April 1, 2019 more than 20 students were discharged from hospital after recovering, but one child remained in the hospital with severe symptoms, and seven others were held for further observation, the Beijing News reported.

The victims, who were from the same grade, all ate porridge, which is usually served sweet. "The kids said the porridge tasted salty," one parent told the Beijing News.