Chinese woman claims her son developed vitiligo after being slapped by teacher

The 11-year-old boy told his mother that a teacher slapped him four times for not doing his mathematics homework.

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A Chinese woman has claimed that her son Liu, 11, who attends Yifu Primary School in southwest China’s Yunnan province, has developed vitiligo, an autoimmune disorder characterised by patches of the skin losing pigment, after being slapped by a teacher, South China Morning Post reported.

According to the report, Liu told her mother that the teacher slapped him in front of the entire class, thrice on the right side of his face and once on the left side, for not doing his mathematics homework.

The boy noticed white patches on his skin three months after the incident. His mother took him to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with vitiligo. The report said that the exact causes of the condition remain unclear, but researchers think that stress and trauma could be potential triggers.

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Vitiligo patients, according to the National Institutes of Health, experience anxiety or depression, and this may be due to the discrimination they face in social situations since there are misconceptions such as the disorder being contagious.

Corporal punishment is prohibited by law in China, but such cases of violations are reported often. Liu’s case has sparked an outrage on social media platforms in China, said the report. The photos of the boy has been shared on social media platforms Weibo and Douyin.

As for Liu’s mother, she is waiting for a chance to contact the teacher in the hope she would reimburse the hospital expenses.

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