Mother Blames Teacher For Negligence After 8-Year-Old Son Dies From Falling Down Stairs In School

8-Year-Old Boy Passes Away After Falling Down Stairs In Fujian, China

Back in 2020, a tragedy struck a school in Fujian, China, when an eight-year-old boy fell at a staircase and later passed away.

More than two years after the incident, his mother took to Weibo to share that the boy, Guo Rui Chen (name transliterated from Chinese), had repeatedly told his teacher he was unwell, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

According to Sohu, on Thursday (9 Feb), a second court case over the incident has begun.

Boy raises hands 7 times to tell teacher he’s unwell

In the lengthy Weibo post, the mother shared that Rui Chen was at Fuzhou Hubin Elementary School at the time of the incident.

On 5 Nov 2020, during the second period, around 10.20am, he felt unwell and told his teacher.

In CCTV footage of the classroom, the boy was seen raising his hand to call on the teacher seven times.

However, the teacher ignored him. After the seventh time he raised his hand, she told him to bear with his condition and rest.

For the next 20 minutes, the boy was seen resting his head on the table.

In her post, his mother accused the teacher of being impatient, uncaring, and not following procedures even though the incident had taken place during the pandemic.

She pointed out that Rui Chen’s father was already at the school’s pick-up point as early as 10.36am.

If the teacher had informed them that Rui Chen was not feeling well, his father could have easily picked him up.

However, when the school bell rang, the teacher continued teaching.

At about 10.53am, when the lesson finally ended, the teacher standing at her desk. She did not check on the boy.

Boy falls down stairs in school

After walking out of the classroom, Rui Chen was seen walking unsteadily along the hallways. At one point, he cried as he walked.

The class monitor later informed the teacher about Rui Chen’s situation.

It was only then that she approached the boy and held his arm as the class made their way down the stairs.

According to other students, Rui Chen was bent over at the staircase and told the teacher he couldn’t walk anymore.

But the teacher allegedly scolded him and told him to stop crying.

Half supporting him and half dragging him along, the teacher and student continued down the stairs despite Rui Chen’s struggles.

It is understood that the school has an elevator.

At about 10.57am, they rounded the bend, and that’s when Rui Chen fell on the staircase landing between the second and third storey.

He fell with a loud thud, and in the CCTV footage, students could be seen turning to look at him.

According to his mother, he had hit the back of his head and fell unconscious immediately.

However, the teacher reportedly did not call for help or inform Rui Chen’s parents.

His father only knew about his son’s situation when another student told him about it.

At 11.02am, a math teacher brought him into the school and called for an ambulance.

Trial over boy’s death ongoing

According to Rui Chen’s mother, the doctor said the boy had stopped breathing when he lost consciousness as his brain sustained irreversible damage, leading to his unfortunate demise.

Concluding her post, she stressed that the school must take responsibility for the incident as the teacher was negligent.

The school also allegedly hid the fact that Rui Chen had fallen, and this was only made known to them after talking to other students.

On Wednesday (8 Feb), staff from the education bureau in the Gulou district of Fuzhou city told Sohu reporters that legal procedures are now underway.

The first trial had already concluded, and the second trial was to begin last Thursday (9 Feb).

One of the staff stated that the student had underlying health conditions and his death was not related to the fall.

In response, Rui Chen’s mother said in a subsequent post that he had always been healthy.

The fall led to him falling into a coma. He was hospitalised for 280 days, and nursed at home for 190 days before passing away.

While details of the first trial were not made public, she said she cannot accept the verdict of the first trial.

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Featured image adapted from 风往北吹y5 on Weibo.