Kindergarten principals detained for feeding children drugs

The principal and vice principal of a kindergarten in central China's Hubei province were detained on Tuesday for illegally giving children anti-fever drugs, local authorities said.

Principal Li Xiujuan and vice principal Zhang Yubo of Xingang Kindergarten in Yiling district of Yichang city both admitted to having fed pupils an over-the-counter anti-fever drug and vitamins to boost their immunity and improve attendance.

The supply channel and the use of the drugs were still being investigated, police said.

At a briefing to parents of the children attending the kindergarten on Tuesday, a Yiling District government official promised that the case would be thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators would be punished according to the law.

The official said the children would receive health examinations while those needing treatment would be treated.

The kindergarten has been shut down, while other nearby kindergartens will take the children, said the official.

A joint investigation team consisting of the police and the local educational department was set up on March 15 after parents claimed their children were regularly fed drugs at the kindergarten.

The parents said their children developed symptoms of stomachache, irregular heart-beat, itching, vomiting and dizziness.

Many parents said their children told them that they were regularly asked to eat "white, bitter-tasting tablets."

The exposure came days after similar cases were reported in the northwestern city of Xi'an and the northeastern city of Jilin.

The legal representative, principals and doctors of the kindergartens in Xi'an and Jilin were also detained for illegal medical practice.

Under Chinese law, medical practitioners must have a license. If convicted, the accused could face more than 10 years in prison in the worst case scenario.