A 5-year-old boy in Zhanjiang was forgotten and died in the school bus for nearly 9 hours. 3 people in kindergarten were arrested
The Paper, Journalist Li Siwen
The body of the 5-year-old boy Jinzai is still stored in the funeral home. His father Chen Peng (pseudonym) wants to wait for the verdict to come out and give an explanation to bury his son.
On July 14, a 5-year-old Jinzai from Lingzai Village, Jiepao Town, Suixi County, Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province, arrived at the kindergarten by school bus. He was forgotten by the teacher and driver on the school bus. As a result, Jinzai was locked in high temperature and closed. He had been severely dehydrated and died of severe dehydration when he was found for nearly 9 hours.
After the incident, the kindergarten manager Lin XX, the school bus driver, and the teacher following the car were criminally detained by the local public security bureau. However, the investigation results and compensation plan have not been implemented for a long time, causing Jinzi's family to suffer.
On August 20, the director of the Jiepao Police Station of the Suixi County Public Security Bureau in the jurisdiction of the kindergarten involved, surnamed Huang, said that the three involved in the case have been approved for arrest and are undergoing further investigation. The verdict needs to wait for prosecution by the procuratorate. The compensation issue is still under mediation due to the different opinions of the kindergarten and family members.
A reporter from The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) searched for relevant judgment documents and found that in recent years, there have been many cases of children being forgotten to death by school buses. Among them, the directly responsible persons were mostly sentenced to the crime of negligence causing death, and generally sentenced to three years in prison with suspended sentences.
In this regard, experts suggest that in response to school bus safety issues, in addition to criminal penalties, systems should be established, training should be strengthened, strict supervision, and responsibilities should be in place. A multi-pronged approach can prevent such incidents from happening again.
5-year-old boy was forgotten by school bus for nearly 9 hours
Jinzai is 5 years old and has been studying at Xinmiao Kindergarten in Jiepao Town for two years. He is picked up by school bus every morning and sent to the village entrance in the evening.
At 7:30 in the morning on July 14, Jinzai's mother, as usual, sent her children to the kindergarten school bus at the entrance of the village. There were five or six village students who got on the bus with Jinzai. Guangdong is already very hot in summer. Jinzi’s father Chen Peng still remembers that it was a sunny day, and the sun’s heat could be felt in the early morning.
They didn't expect that after getting on the bus, Jinzi arrived at the kindergarten smoothly, but failed to get off the bus.
At around 5 o'clock that evening, Jin Zai's mother was going to the village entrance to pick up her children from school. Just before going out, I received a call from the kindergarten teacher. "The phone said that Jinzai had a sudden shock during the lunch break and was taken to the County People's Hospital by the kindergarten school bus." Chen Peng said that Jinzai has always been in good health. He didn't think much about it at the time and rushed to the hospital with his wife.
It takes an hour’s drive from Chen Peng’s home to the county hospital. On the way, Chen Peng is still comforting his wife without any major problems. However, after arriving at the hospital, the doctor told the family that Jinzi had no vital signs when he was sent here.
Why did the good child die suddenly? The kindergarten teacher present did not give a reasonable explanation. In grief, Chen Peng immediately called the police and asked his brother to go to the kindergarten to cooperate with the police to investigate and monitor the cause of death.
"At 7 o'clock in the evening, my brother called me and said that when the police asked to check the surveillance, the kindergarten teacher admitted that the child died in the school bus, not in the lunch break room." Because Chen Peng's brother was not an immediate family member , Failed to check the surveillance inside the school bus with the police. After returning to the town police station, Chen Peng learned from the police the cause of Jinzi's death.
The school bus arrived at the kindergarten at about 8 am on the day of the incident, but when he got off the bus, Jin Tsai could not keep up with the team. The teacher with the car and other students got off the bus. He did not notice Jin Tsai and did not conduct a roll call or check. The school bus was then parked on the open space opposite the kindergarten. When the driver left the school bus, he did not find Jinzi who had not got off the bus.
"The highest outdoor temperature was 34 degrees that day. The police said that the temperature inside the car could reach 60 degrees or more after being exposed to the sun. During the surveillance, my child took off his clothes. It was still very hot. No one heard the call for help. Eventually, he died of severe dehydration." Peng could not see the surveillance inside the school bus, but he was heartbroken by the police's description.
He told The Paper that Jinzi only discovered it at 4:30 in the afternoon when the school bus was about to send students home. Jinzi had been locked in the school bus for nearly 9 hours. Afterwards, the kindergarten teacher and driver drove Jinzi to the Suixi County People's Hospital, which is an hour away.
Why has no one called the parent to ask the child whether to ask for leave in such a long time? Why didn't the teacher and the driver check the inside of the car after getting off the car? Why didn't you dial 120 immediately after the incident, but went to the doctor by yourself? These problems have made Chen Peng unable to let go, "because this is not an accident, but a child's death caused by human negligence."
According to the picture provided by Chen Peng, the school bus safety management plan is also posted on the outer wall of the kindergarten, which clearly requires the teacher following the car to check the boarding list to confirm that the children getting on and off are following the car. Before the end of the car, the entire carriage must be inspected to ensure that no child is left in the car.
Jinzai is the only child of Chen Peng and his wife, and his departure made the family instantly desperate. More than a month after the incident, Jinzi's body was still parked in the funeral home. "I want to wait for the police to give the child a statement before burying." Chen Peng said.
Three people in kindergarten detained
On the night of the incident, the school bus driver, the teacher who followed the car, and the kindergarten manager were criminally detained. However, in the past month or so, the investigation results have not been announced, and the kindergarten's compensation plan has not been implemented.
"After the accident, the kindergarten said it could give us 200,000 compensation, and we certainly cannot accept it." Chen Peng told The Paper that the local government had led two post-reconciliation negotiations, but each time the kindergarten was bargaining, the two sides fell into a deadlock.
In addition, compared to compensation, Chen Peng hopes that the police can investigate clearly and impose criminal penalties on relevant personnel as soon as possible.
The Paper reporter found through Tianyan that Xinmiao Kindergarten in Jiepao Town, Suixi County was established on June 5, 2017, and its legal representative is Lin Kangzhi.
On August 20, the reporter called the Jiepao Police Station to inquire about the matter. The director of the station surnamed Huang introduced that the case has been transferred to the Criminal Police Brigade of the Suixi County Public Security Bureau for investigation. The school bus driver, teacher following the car, and kindergarten manager Lin XX was also approved for arrest and is undergoing further investigation, but the verdict has to wait for the prosecution to be filed by the procuratorate after the investigation is over, which requires a certain amount of time and process.
The family questioned whether Lin Kangzhi, the legal representative of the kindergarten, was not detained. He said that after investigation, Lin Kangzhi did not actually participate in the management of the kindergarten, and did not meet the requirements for legally detained persons, so no criminal detention was carried out. "The actual manager of the kindergarten is Lin Kangzhi’s uncle Lin XX, this Lin XX We have been arrested."
The director surnamed Huang also stated that although the legal representative Lin Kangzhi is exempt from criminal punishment, he still needs to bear civil compensation. While investigating the current case, the Jie Pao police station and local government departments have also arranged for civil compensation for many times. “Now we understand that the kindergarten has limited compensation capacity and is willing to compensate the victims’ families at most 700 to 800,000 yuan, although it has not reached The request of the victim’s family, but the distance is very close, and we are still working hard to coordinate."
Does the school bus driver involved have school bus driving qualifications? The director said that he did not know and he needed to wait for further investigation by the Interpol Brigade of the Public Security Bureau of Suixi County. The results of the investigation will be notified to the victims' families as soon as possible.
On the same day, a reporter from The Paper contacted the Criminal Police Brigade of the Suixi County Public Security Bureau. The police handling the case stated that the case is still in the investigation stage and the specific investigation details are not convenient for disclosure.
From August 19th to 21st, The Paper made many calls to Xinmiao Kindergarten but failed to get through. Chen Peng told The Paper that the kindergarten had been closed after the incident, and the scene was surrounded by a cordon.
Expert advice system and supervision combined to solve school bus safety accidents
As early as April 2012, the State Council issued and implemented the "School Bus Safety Management Regulations", which clearly stipulated that car care personnel should count the number of students on the bus, verify the number of students getting off the bus, and confirm that all students on the bus have left the bus. Before leaving the car.
But the express provision did not stop the tragedy from happening. The Paper Journalists searched and found that "children were forgotten to death by school bus" have occurred repeatedly in recent years. According to public reports, at least three accidents occurred in 2019 alone.
Through the China Judgment Documents website, the reporter found multiple cases of "children being forgotten to death by school bus". Among them, the directly responsible persons such as car teachers and drivers were mostly sentenced to the crime of negligence causing death, and generally sentenced to three years in prison with suspended sentences. The responsible persons of relevant departments accused of dereliction of duty due to ineffective supervision are mostly exempted from criminal punishments due to minor crimes.
Cheng Fangping, Ph.D. supervisor of the School of Education of Renmin University of China, believes that the death of a child from being forgotten by school bus is not simply a matter of negligence causing death, but a reflection of kindergartens and teachers despising children’s lives and lacking respect for life.
He pointed out that in addition to the school bus management regulations, a detailed responsibility identification system should be formulated as soon as possible. "With the corresponding system, the responsibility can be divided into place after the incident. Public schools will be held accountable for kindergartens and the government, and private schools will be held Responsibility, let them pay attention to this matter from top to bottom."
Liu Tao, a lecturer in the Law Department of Shandong University Law School, said that rather than increasing penalties at the legislative level, it is more important to strengthen training and supervision to avoid recurrence. "The first is to introduce regulations on the qualifications of school bus drivers to increase the entry threshold for school bus drivers. When hiring school bus drivers, kindergartens need to strictly assess the drivers' professional skills, personal ideological and ethical qualities, etc.; second, traffic management departments and education departments should conduct regular operations and safety Training, strengthen supervision, strictly investigate illegal operations, and conduct regular assessments of school bus drivers."
Cheng Fangping told The Paper that at present, in the supervision of kindergartens, especially township kindergartens, there is indeed a certain lack of supervision. “Now there are standardized public kindergartens in cities, but children in rural areas also have to go to kindergartens. Government departments have the responsibility to help the private sector. Kindergartens regulate related issues and train and supervise teachers and related personnel."
He suggested that to solve the school bus safety problem should be a multi-pronged approach, the establishment of a system, strengthened training, strict supervision, and a combination of four aspects to prevent such incidents from happening again.