Private School in Beijing Accused of Drugging, Sexually Molesting Children

Parents of students stormed RYB Education’s Beijing branch in Chaoyang District on Thursday, demanding to speak with the school’s principal on suspicion of child molestation, according to Shanghaiist. They also demanded to see the Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) footage of the classrooms to find evidence if the school staff did, in fact, commit these heinous crimes.

Unfortunately, the parents were not successful in acquiring the said CCTV tapes that contain the evidence they need, as What’s On Weibo reported that the footage had already been confiscated by Chaoyang police; three of the institution’s staff are now suspended.

The parents, while speaking with the media, made the discovery when some said they found traces of injection marks on their children’s skin, particularly on their legs, buttocks, and arms. The kids also told their parents how some of the staff at the school fed them white pills that “made them go to sleep”.

They were also subjected to “naked health checks” conducted by an “uncle and grandpa doctor” who explicitly told the students not to tell their parents. Some of these parents even found signs of sexual abuse in their children, official reports stated.

The kids, believed to be aged between 2 – 6, also received horrible punishments that would constitute as child abuse. “Disobedient students were also forced to stand naked or were locked up in a dark room at the kindergarten,” said one of the parents who spoke to the reporters.

The scandal exploded on Chinese social media – both Weibo and on WeChat. Some parents couldn’t help but express how horrified they were when they heard the news.

“We all know that society is not so light, but who knew it was so dark,” a parent wrote in a Chinese online forum, as translated by What’s On Weibo. “Besides what is out there in the media, there are so many things that remain under the radar. What can we do but just hope that these kids will grow up healthy and strong?”

However, the Chinese government is now tightening its control over all the discussions related to the RYB Education scandal. According to reports, it has now deleted Weibo hashtags as well as comments on the story.

The institution is one of the first and biggest early education chains in the country. RYB Education reportedly has 1,300 learning centers across China and 500 kindergartens in more than 300 cities.

Featured images via Shanghaiist