Nghe An: Strengthen inspection of grocery stores in front of school gates

On December 9, Mr. Nguyen Tam Ky - Chairman of the People's Committee of Le Mao Ward (Vinh City) said that regarding the case of a student suspected of being poisoned by inhaling gas from a toy gun, the ward requested the closure of the grocery store in front of Le Mao Primary School. This is the store that sold toy guns to students. However, after the incident, the authorities quickly inspected and discovered that the items sold by this grocery store were of unknown origin.

"Currently, the ward is completing the documents to administratively sanction the owner of this grocery store. In the near future, we will set up inspection teams to inspect all stores in front of school gates. If we detect goods of unknown origin, we will request their immediate closure," said Mr. Ky.

A grocery store in front of Le Mao Primary School. Photo: TH

Meanwhile, Ms. Hoang Phuong Thao - Head of the Department of Education and Training of Vinh City said that immediately after the incident, the Department notified the schools and requested them to warn parents. At the same time, the Department also reported to the People's Committee of Vinh City to request the wards and communes to strengthen the inspection of the origin of counterfeit goods... especially the stalls at school gates.

After the incident at Le Mao Primary School, many localities in Nghe An province are also thoroughly inspecting the shops selling in front of the school gates. In Cua Lo town, Mr. Phung Duc Nhan - Head of the town's Department of Education and Training said that after receiving information about the incident at Le Mao Primary School, he directly called the leaders of the wards in the area, requesting to set up an inspection team. Currently, some wards such as Nghi Tan and Nghi Thuy have sent functional forces to investigate.

Nghi Tan Ward Police inspect a grocery store in front of the school gate. Photo: Duc Lam

In Nghi Tan Ward, Mr. Nguyen Duc Lam - Chairman of the Ward People's Committee said that the inspection team included ward leaders and police forces. "We have inspected all grocery stores around the school. Initially, no violations were discovered. But we have also reminded grocery store owners to comply with regulations, not to sell items that can be dangerous to students, or items of unknown origin," said Mr. Lam.

Earlier, on the morning of December 8, a 5th grade male student at Le Mao Primary School (Vinh City) brought out a toy gun he bought in front of the school gate to play with and discovered that it deflated. He immediately threw it in the trash. However, many students standing near the trash immediately had difficulty breathing, dizziness, and some had mild convulsions. After first aid by the school's medical staff, 6 students had to be taken to Vinh City General Hospital.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Truong - Director of Vinh City General Hospital said that 6 students were admitted to the hospital with symptoms of difficulty breathing, chest tightness, nausea and dizziness. After receiving IV fluids from doctors, their health stabilized and they were discharged the same day. "Because we could not conduct tests, the hospital could not conclude what kind of gas poisoning the students suffered," Mr. Truong said.

This is not the first time students in Vinh City have had problems using items sold or distributed for free in front of the school gate. Previously, on the afternoon of March 16, 2021, a group of people in a car stopped in front of the gate of Quang Trung Primary School, Vinh City, and distributed free bottles of drinking water to students. Upon discovering the incident, even though it was not yet time for class, the principal still had to beat the drum to enter the classroom and ask the group to explain the reason for distributing free water, but they quickly left. In order to promptly prevent students from using the drinks, Quang Trung Primary School used a loudspeaker to call on students to hand over the water bottles. The result was 183 bottles of soft drinks with faded expiration dates. In addition, the school also held an emergency meeting to ask teachers to get a list of students who had drunk them to monitor their health. As a result, 53 students said they had drunk this drink. By 4:00 p.m. the same day, 9 fourth-grade students in a class who drank bottles of orange juice showed signs of stomachache and nausea.