Circulating in China's social media platform sharing site Weibo this week are photos of a little boy smelling someone's feet with the captions, "training masochism since childhood" and "parent leadership has been blocked" in Chinese.
According to the Weixin, one of the thousands who shared the post reported to the police station, providing a screenshot of the source that led to the conclusion that the perpetrator is a teaching assistant in the said kindergarten.
The school responded almost immediately, posting a lengthy statement in their website. The initial findings were that of molestation, but the preliminary investigation, done through viewing the surveillance video and interviewing other teachers, revealed that this happened during their play time and that no "indecent behavior" occurred, but feet smelling indeed happened.
According to Weixin, the one who reported this to the police hopes "that the person is not only suspended from work, but should stop engaging in child care work in this life. Then give the child's parents a satisfactory answer."
The school's statement also added that they have been instructed to dismiss the teaching assistant. They are also working closely with the police for further investigation. "For the troubles and worries caused by this incident, we sincerely apologize and take warning, and continue to strengthen the teacher's code of conduct and teacher ethics."