Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

The founder of a private school has blamed the death of a student believed to have been suffering from leukaemia on his parents because they “sinned too many times”.

Local media report the unqualified school nurse tried to treat the boy’s leukaemia using ancient Chinese cupping techniques before sending him to hospital.

Zhou Zuorui died in hospital in December 2018 after falling ill at the boarding school he attended in the country of Yitong in the north-western Chinese province of Jilin, bordering with North Korea.

Pictures Credit: AsiaWire

The founder of Yukun School, which teaches traditional Chinese culture, is being investigated after reportedly telling the grieving parents: “Your family has sinned too many times.”

The for-profit school reportedly tried to treat Zuorui’s signs of leukaemia with traditional techniques such as cupping therapy and herbal medicine.

After they discovered large lumps on the student’s abdomen, the school told his parents to take him to hospital.

Father Zhou Jiankui and mother Xiang Xiaoyan, who live over 1,600 miles from the school, arrived the next day.

According to reports, the symptoms suggested he had leukaemia, however a lumbar puncture, which would have confirmed the illness, was reportedly not performed.

Zuorui died three days after being admitted to hospital.

In the days following the nine-year-old’s tragic passing, Wang Hongqi, who founded the cultural school in 2017, reportedly said to his mum and dad: “Your child had leukaemia because your family has sinned too many times.

“As parents, you should repent.”

The family tried to press charges against Hongqi in December, but was told by the authorities that the case “failed to meet standards for establishing charges”.

However, when they took the matter to social media site ‘Weibo’, they received significant online support and the Yitong County education board launched an investigation.

They found that the school had been negligent in its care of the boy, which led to a delay in receiving proper treatment in hospital.

The investigation also found that the school nurse was unqualified.

Reports said that Zhou’s parents were unhappy with the findings and vowed to seek criminal justice for Zuorui.

Meanwhile, Wang has denied any wrongdoing and launched a counterclaim against the parents for defamation and demanded that they apologise, according to local media.