Teenager in China dies of heart attack after teacher forces her to exercise, insists illness is ‘fake’, delays first aid
- First-year medical student has heart condition, excused from sport
- Angry tutor removes her as class monitor, calls medical document fake
A college student in China with congenital heart disease died suddenly after being forced by her teacher to take part in sport despite her medical history, her family has claimed.
The first-year student at Baicheng Medical College in northeastern Jilin province had the seizure while running with her classmates on April 12, according to the mainland media outlet New Yellow River.
The teenager, surnamed Zhao, was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead two days later.
Her aunt, surnamed Wang, said Zhao submitted medical documents proving she had a congenital heart disease to the college last year and was granted exclusion from sporting activities.
However, her tutor, Song, ordered Zhao to participate in running recently because he was targeting her, according to the teenager’s aunt.
She said Song’s discontent with her niece stemmed from an incident at the beginning of April when he hinted that Zhao should give his wife some live fish for cooking as a gift.
Zhao ordered the fish on a shopping website, but they arrived dead.
“The teacher was angry and made everything difficult for our kid,” Wang said, adding: “He said her heart disease document was fake. So she must run every day.”
He also removed Zhao from her class monitor position, Wang said.
As Zhao collapsed during the running event on April 12, Song told other students not to approach her. He did not call the emergency services instantly, but contacted the college’s management, according to a classmate.
“If we had made the effort to rescue her in time, I think it would have been effective. But the tutor wouldn’t let us get near her,” said the classmate, who requested anonymity.
Song could not be reached for comment. He had switched off his mobile phone, the report said.
An official from the school’s administration office confirmed Zhao had died of heart disease, but could not clarify Song’s role in the tragedy.
“The police are investigating the case and we are cooperating,” the official said.
Students dying from accidents on campus are not common but usually captivate mainland social media.
In 2021, a nine-year-old girl in southwestern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region died from brain damage nine days after her head banged against a wall when she was knocked into by a student running along a corridor.
Although the girl passed out on the spot, her teachers did not tell her parents or send her to hospital until several hours later.
