Jinan teacher administered physical punishment but no criminal offense, report confirms

A joint investigation team in Jinan, Shandong province, confirmed with an official report on Friday that a teacher at Jinan Yuying Middle School administered physical punishment against a student, which were not deemed severe enough to constitute a criminal offense.

The team examined more than 350 hours of surveillance footage and interviewed 71 people, including the parties directly involved and other teachers and students of the same class.

According to the investigation, the teacher surnamed Tian, the head teacher of a first-year class, was found to have administered physical punishment on a student surnamed Lin.

Tian's misconducts included hitting the student on his left shoulder and twice imposing long periods of standing as punishment. Additional inappropriate behaviors were also confirmed, such as throwing the student's book in class and making the student stand during a break, according to the report.

However, Tian's actions were not deemed severe enough to constitute a criminal offense or a violation of public security regulations, with no deliberate intention to abuse her student, said the report.

The case drew public attention in early September when the student's mother, surnamed Fu, posted online alleging Tian's misconduct. On Sept 18, the education and sports bureau of Jinan's Shizhong district, where the school is located, issued a statement confirming that Tian had engaged in improper behaviors, including physical punishment, during the first two weeks of the new semester.

Fu subsequently expressed that the punishment against the teacher was too lenient and stated her intention to file a lawsuit. In response, the Jinan municipal government established the joint investigation team comprising officials from its education bureau, the public security bureau, the women's federation, and the Shizhong district government to conduct a thorough and in-depth reinvestigation, the results of which were published on Friday.

The district bureau imposed a disciplinary demerit against Tian and removed her from her position. The school's Party secretary was formally admonished and instructed to apologize to the student and his parents.

The joint investigation decided that the disciplinary decisions made earlier by the bureau were appropriate, based on clear facts, and supported by sufficient evidence.