A kindergarten teacher in China is under police investigation and has been suspended after allegedly scalding a four-year-old girl with a glue gun, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. The incident, which occurred on May 27 at a nursery in Fengxian County, Jiangsu Province, left the child with painful blisters. A surveillance footage of the classroom revealed that the teacher, surnamed Chen, was punishing students who were talking during class. She reportedly made children line up and used a glue gun on them one by one.
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Chen first touched a boy’s palm with the hot glue gun, causing him to pull his hand away, before striking him and letting him go. She then pulled a four-year-old girl forward and pressed the glue gun to the child’s upper lip twice as the girl tried to pull back. Another male teacher was present but did not intervene.
Later that evening, blisters formed on the girl’s lip, worsened, and began oozing pus, causing the child significant pain. Her parents took her to the hospital and contacted the police.
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The girl’s mother, Zhou, said she was heartbroken after watching the footage with officers. “We watched the surveillance records with the police. I felt heartbroken when I saw the scene,” she said.
“I do not know how serious the mistake made by a four-year-old girl was. Why was she so cruel to my daughter?”
Zhou also said the teacher’s explanation changed after first claiming the girl hurt herself, then saying it was an accident.
The glue gun was reportedly being prepared for a classroom craft activity to decorate the room. Authorities have not concluded the investigation. The local education department said it has sent counsellors to support students in the class and ordered the kindergarten to strengthen teacher ethics training.
