Chinese woman who poisoned 25 kindergarten learners sentenced to death

A replica hangman's noose is seen during a protest outside the Old Bailey courthouse in London February 26, 2014. REUTERS/Toby Melville

A Chinese court has sentenced a woman who poisoned 25 kindergarten learners in March 2019 in China’s Jiaozuo city to death. The court described her as “despicable and vicious”.

The woman, identified as Ms Wang, is accused of putting sodium nitrite in the porridge which was consumed by her colleague’s students. According to the Chinese media, Wang’s act was out of vengeance towards a colleague she had fallen out.’

The children aged between four and five years old were taken to hospital after they started vomiting and some passing out shortly after their breakfast. One of the children died after being admitted to hospital for a period of10 months.

The court found Wang to have committed a serious and diabolical crime which required the most severe punishment to be meted.

Surprisingly, the crime using sodium nitrite is not the first for Wang. The court said that in a past incident, she had purchased the chemical online and poisoned her husband who later sustained minor injuries.

Nitrites are commonly used as additive mostly used to preserve meat, add flavour and colour. They are necessarily poisonous unless overused just like any other chemical. In cooked meat products, no more than 150mg of nitrate is allowed per kg of is allowed.

Unlike many countries where the death sentence is passed by life in prison; china carries it out by a firing squad or a lethal injection.