{
  "id": 15114807,
  "title": "Chinese kindergarten owner given life sentence over lead paint poisoning scandal",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/chinese-kindergarten-owner-given-life-sentence-over-lead-paint-15114807",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-17T04:10:18.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Reuters Business via SCMP",
    "slug": "reuters-business-via-scmp",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3371229/chinese-kindergarten-owner-given-life-sentence-over-lead-paint-poisoning-scandal"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A Chinese kindergarten owner, Li Huifang, has been sentenced to life in prison for poisoning over 200 children with lead-contaminated food in the country's worst food safety scandal in nearly two decades, according to Lanzhou Intermediate People's Court in Gansu province. The court also jailed Peixin Kindergarten principal Zhu Jinglin for 15 years and fined both Li and Zhu 500,000 yuan (US$75,000) and 300,000 yuan, respectively. Four canteen staff were sentenced between six and eight years, with fines. The poisoning occurred in July last year when canteen staff allegedly purchased decorative paint online, diluted it, and added it to the children's food. Laboratory tests confirmed the presence of lead in the paint, which was clearly marked as unsafe for consumption. Of the 251 children at the kindergarten, 233 had abnormal blood lead levels, while 18 had normal results. The scandal drew widespread outrage, with comparisons drawn to a 2008 case where 300,000 children were poisoned after suppliers added melamine to powdered milk. Authorities vowed to impose \"zero tolerance\" for any act that endangers public health and warned that the cost of crime would be too high for any misconduct.",
  "summary": "The owner of a Chinese kindergarten has been jailed for life after more than 200 children were poisoned by lead in the country’s worst food safety scandal for almost two decades. A total of six people were jailed on Friday for making or selling harmful foodstuffs by Lanzhou Intermediate People’s Court in Gansu province. Li Huifang, owner of the Peixin Kindergarten in Tianshui, was handed a life…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post",
        "title": "Chinese kindergarten owner given life sentence over lead paint poisoning scandal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/chinese-kindergarten-owner-given-life-sentence-over-lead-paint",
        "published": "2026-10-17T04:10:18.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}