China School Teacher Slaps Student Nine Times For Calling Him By Name, Suspended

A school teacher in China who slapped a student in the face nine times for calling out his name has been suspended from his position. According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the incident took place on March 14 at a school in Shandong province. The student and his classmates were resting in a playground during a physical education class when the boy saw his mathematics teacher walking nearby and called out his name. This is when the teacher, surnamed Wu, became irritated, thinking the boy had shown disrespect to him. 

The teacher approached the group of students, found the boy who called out his name, and slapped him in the face, the outlet reported. The student apologised to the teacher twice, and one of his classmates even tried to persuade Mr Wu not to beat the boy. However, the teacher did not stop his violence and slapped the kid 9 times. 

The student’s parents said that his face became swollen and he suffered tinnitus. The parents also alleged that their child had a continuous headache. “My son has been in a state of panic. I am wondering what action of his prompted an adult man to beat him,” the boy’s mother said in a social media post. 

The mother alleged that she had taken her son to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with head and face injuries. The family then also called the police and brought the issue to the notice of the school authorities, calling on Mr Wu to be fired. 

“Who gave you the right to hit my kid? If he did something wrong, you can contact me. You have my telephone number, right?” the mother asked the teacher. 

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To this, Mr Wu said, “I know. But I am an old man in my 50s. He called my name loudly and in a bantering way. This was extremely disrespectful. So I slapped his face. I think he should discipline his mouth.” 

Meanwhile, the school has taken action against the teacher. The authorities suspended Mr Wu from his teaching position and offered 5,000 yuan in compensation to the boy’s family. However, the money was declined by the parents. 

Separately, the local education authority said they are investigating the case, and vowed to deal with the matter seriously and “based on law and regulations”.