China Woman Claims Son Developed Vitiligo After Being Slapped By Teacher

A woman in China has claimed that her 11-year-old son, Liu, developed Vitiligo, a condition causing white patches on the skin, after being slapped by his teacher. The teacher's harsh punishment was for not completing his mathematics homework, the South China Morning Post reported. Liu, a student at Yifu Primary School, told his mother that his teacher humiliated him by bringing him to the front of the classroom, and then slapped him three times on the right side of his face and once on the left.

Following the incident, Liu's mother surnamed Huang, noticed severe swelling on her son's face and took him to the hospital for medical attention. Three months after the incident, Liu began to exhibit a distressing physical symptom: the loss of pigmentation in certain areas of his skin. Although the exact causes of vitiligo are still not fully understood, research suggests that environmental stress factors, such as physical or emotional trauma, may play a role in triggering the onset of the condition.

The school is currently awaiting the outcome of a police investigation and a forensic injury assessment, which will inform their decision on disciplinary actions against the teacher responsible for the incident. The teacher's identity, including their gender, has not been disclosed.

Meanwhile, Liu's mother has expressed frustration at being unable to contact the teacher or receive reimbursement for her son's medical expenses, despite the hospital having sent the bill to the teacher. Research from the National Institutes of Health reveals that individuals with vitiligo are more likely to experience anxiety or depression. 

On social media, the incident has sparked outrage and many users demanded strict punishment against the teacher. One user wrote, ''How could a teacher hurt a student so badly without receiving any punishment for three months?'' Another said, ''Slapping a boy in the face is a step too far.''

Notably, China's law bans teachers from inflicting corporal punishments on students. However, incidents of teachers abusing students continue to be a massive problem. Last year, a nine-year-old girl underwent emergency surgery for a severely damaged skull, after a teacher allegedly used a metal ruler to hit her on the head. The teacher, identified as Song Mouming, was employed at Bocai Meixihu Primary School in Hunan province, central China. He was arrested by the local police after the incident.