A 10-year-old girl, sent to a free training class for Chinese studies by her mother in Hubei province, was allegedly tortured by a teacher, triggering public outrage. If found guilty, the teacher should be punished for not only abusing the child but also for pretending to teach Chinese history and culture, says an article in Beijing News. Excerpts:

Child abuse is a heinous crime, more so if the perpetrator is a teacher, and that's the reason why netizens are shocked and outraged. A careful look into the incident would reveal that the teacher was not qualified for the job and had even lied that some students in her class were "children that society had forgotten" in order to get donations from kind-hearted people.

The mother of the victim sent her child to the special "study center" because she believed in the teacher. But a responsible mother should not have done so without getting to know all the necessary details about the "study center" from independent sources before sending her child there.

Parents should learn to question the motive of institutions that offer special classes and care to children without any obvious reason and, hence, should take all precautions before sending their children there.