Two China girls plied with liquor as punishment

BEIJING, Oct 23 (Reuters) A Chinese teacher forced two schoolgirls to drink a bottle of liquor between them as punishment for neglecting their studies, Chinese media reported today.

The middle school girls were sent to hospital on Friday in northwestern Shaanxi province suffering from vomiting and dizziness after they drank the baijiu -- a powerful grain-based alcohol which means ''white liquor'' in Chinese.

''The teacher found a hair curler and a letter among their belongings, so he decided to punish them for not concentrating on their studies,'' the Beijing News said.

''At the teacher's insistence, the two girls had to finish one bottle of baijiu against their will.'' A schoolboy who spoke out against the punishment was beaten by the same teacher, it said.

The report did not say whether the teacher would face punishment.

In September, a history teacher in central China beat an 11-year-old student senseless and threw her from a fourth-floor classroom window, killing her in a so-far unexplained frenzy.

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