Nursery owner in China jailed for life after hundreds of children poisoned
A nursery owner and five members of her staff have been jailed after they were found to have poisoned more than 200 children with lead-tainted food. Li Huifang, who operated the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, in the Gansu province, was sentenced to life in prison for producing and selling toxic and harmful food, according […]
In July 2025, over 200 children at the Heshi Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, Gansu province, China, were discovered to have dangerously high blood lead levels. The nursery owner, Li Huifang, and five of her staff were subsequently jailed for poisoning the children with lead-tainted food. Li was given a life sentence for producing and selling harmful food, while her assistant, Zhi Jinglin, received a 15-year sentence.
Four other staff members were handed sentences ranging from six to eight years. The court found that the four had been directed by Li and Zhi to add toxic ingredients to the food. The lead levels in food samples were 2,000 times higher than China's national safety limit. The investigation uncovered attempts by officials to conceal the incident by falsifying blood tests and accepting bribes.
China has since implemented new guidelines for campus meal provision, including mandatory testing of every new batch of food and purchasing of flour, rice, and cooking oil from centralised procurement points only.
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