Mother Caught Blackmailing Teacher with Fake Photos

Police detained a mother in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province for attempting to blackmail her daughter’s elementary school teacher with false accusations of abuse and staged photos. In her May 30 post on social media, the mother surnamed Liu accused the teacher of forcing her 6-year-old daughter, who she said suffers from asthma, to run 10 laps around the playground as punishment for violating rules, causing her to cough up blood. Liu also posted a photo of her daughter’s school uniform with what appeared to be bloodstains. Liu also accused the teacher of beating and threatening her and asking for 60,000 yuan (US$8,480) in bribes. However, a police investigation revealed that the bloody uniform was fake and that Liu’s daughter, according to her doctor, did not have asthma. The local education bureau said that Liu’s daughter exhibited no adverse symptoms after completing the 10 laps, nine of which she had walked. Liu admitted to the fabrications, saying she wanted to exert more influence on the teacher. Despite the exoneration, local education authorities still punished the teacher, a move that netizens said would deter other teachers from disciplining students.