Chinese boy, 10, jumps to death ‘on teacher’s order’

A 10-year-old Chinese boy
jumped 30 floors to his
death after failing to write
a self-criticism letter
demanded by his teacher,
state media reported
today.
The fifth-grade primary
school student had been
ordered to write a 1,000-
character apology by his
teacher for talking in
class, China National Radio
(CNR) reported on its
website, citing a
neighbour.
The educator allegedly
told him to jump out of a
building after he failed to
complete the task.
The report quoted
relatives and the
neighbour as saying,
“Teacher, I can’t do it,”
was found written in one
of his textbooks, CNR said.
“I flinched several times
when I tried to jump from
the building.”
The child smashed into a
parked car beneath the
flat where his family live,
the West China City News
reported.
His furious relatives
posted a banner outside
the school in the
southwestern city of
Chengdu reading: “The
teacher forced our kid to
jump off the building,”
pictures showed.
“The police investigation is
still under way,” an
official of Jinjiang district,
where the incident
happened, told AFP
declining to comment
further.
Strict discipline is an
essential part of China’s
education system and
culture, and tradition
demands deference to
authority, putting children
under pressure to obey
instructions. (AFP)
The news provoked
sadness and sympathy on
Sina Weibo, a Chinese
equivalent of Twitter.
“How can a guy like this
be a teacher?” wrote one
poster.
“Who gave him the right
to speak in this way? Why
does the student have this
kind of blind obedience?”
The boy’s school said
Thursday on its verified
account that the child and
some of his classmates had
been ordered to write
reviews of their behaviour
after they disturbed a
speaking competition.
He died “by accident”, it
said.
Beijing china

Category: