BEIJING — A Chinese court sentenced a kindergarten operator to life imprisonment on Friday after 247 preschool children were found to have abnormally high blood lead levels from consuming food contaminated with toxic substances.
The Intermediate People’s Court of Lanzhou City in northwestern Gansu Province sentenced Li Huifang, the person in charge of Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Maiji District, to life imprisonment for serving toxic and harmful food, according to state-run Xinhua News Agency.
The court also sentenced five other people to prison terms ranging from six to 15 years for their involvement in the case.
According to the verdict, Li and the kindergarten’s executive principal, Zhu Jinglin, instructed and organized kitchen staff to add toxic substances to food served to children and employees to make it more colorful and visually appealing for marketing purposes.
Li was also deprived of political rights for life and had 500,000 yuan ($74,000) in personal property confiscated.
Zhu received a 15-year prison sentence and a fine of 300,000 yuan, while four kitchen workers who followed the instructions were sentenced to between six and eight years in prison and fined.
A provincial investigation released in July 2025 found that contaminated pastries had been served to children and staff every month since May 2024.
Medical examinations revealed that 247 of the 251 children tested had abnormally high blood lead levels, exposing the scale of the contamination.
All affected children received hospital treatment or home-based nutritional interventions.
By July 20, 2025, most had completed their initial course of treatment and been discharged from hospital, according to the provincial investigation.
Source: Saudi Gazette