This is the moment a nursery school teacher tapes a child’s mouth shut, resulting in her arrest for bodily harm and her sacking from her job.

The incident took place at the private Jinxiu Garden Kindergarten in Beihu District in the city of Jining in eastern China’s Shandong Province.

The alleged crime took place during lunch break, according to Baidu News.

Video footage of the incident shows the teacher restraining the child while passing what appears to be duct tape tightly around his head, covering his mouth.

It was not reported if the teacher carried out the alleged abuse to keep the boy quiet or simply as a punishment.

The local education authorities confirmed on the following day that the incident had indeed taken place, with the Jining Beihu Public Security Bureau reporting that the teacher in question had beaten and injured the child.

The police named the teacher as Ms Zhou and the child as Mstr Dong, who is in Ms Zhou’s class.

Baidu News reported that the suspect has been arrested by the police for bodily harm and is in custody. According to local law, the custody period will last between five to 10 days.

Qq News reported that the headteacher of the nursery school in question has since sacked Ms Zhou and has promised never to rehire her.

Qq News also reported that all parents were invited to the nursery school on Saturday, 20th November, to receive an apology and a promise that nothing similar would happen again.