News commentator Wu Shuang reported that Lu Sisi, a 10-year-old primary school student in Xuwen County, Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province, died after being poisoned after eating bread from an off-campus bakery in September last year, and was hospitalized for more than 20 days. Sisi's death attracted the attention of the local police, and after investigation, it was determined that the cause of death was fluoroacetamide rodenticide poisoning. According to a report by Red Star News on January 29, this is a very sad tragedy.
The innocent 10-year-old girl was poisoned after eating bread and finally died after being rescued, which is deplorable. His family even said that "their hearts are bleeding". We read the reports and found a number of questions that led to the conclusion that this tragedy should not have happened.
First of all, according to the preliminary investigation by the police, the bread processing staff found that there was a rodent infestation in the store, so they actually purchased rodenticide and placed it in the store to poison the rats in the store. As a result, rats brought rodenticide into the flour, and bread makers unknowingly used contaminated flour. Although "some of the people who bought this batch of bread had diarrhea", because Sisi was a child, tragedy eventually occurred. Such food safety hazards are simply staggering, and the hearts of bread processors are bigger than the sky.
Secondly, according to reports, after Sisi's death, the local police found that the cause of death was fluoroacetamide rodenticide poisoning. This organic compound is banned by the state because of its high potency, high toxicity and strong residual properties. However, because of its good effect, fluoroacetamide rodenticide still appears in the market under different names among some illegal traders, which has become a serious food safety hazard. We have to ask, how did this bakery buy this banned rodenticide? Is it also illegal to sell such drugs, have the local police launched an investigation to trace the source, bring the criminals to justice, and cut off the production and circulation of illegal rodenticide?
Finally, media reports show that Sisi's family said that at 9:37 a.m. that day, parents received a voice message from Sisi's teacher, saying that Sisi had a stomachache and asked the parents to pick it up. However, the school did not call the 120 emergency number in time, and it was not until the parents arrived at the scene that the emergency number was called, and Sisi was able to be sent to the hospital for rescue. This raises questions about the responsibility of schools. Seeing a child lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth, why didn't the school call the emergency number immediately? The school now claims that "everything that needs to be done has already been done", but this is not convincing. It is also incumbent upon the police and education authorities to sort out the process and clarify responsibilities. In addition, if a student has an abnormality, does the school have an emergency response mechanism?
Sisi's death was shocking. Improper placement of rodenticide in food processing shops, illegal rodenticide entering the market, and lack of timely treatment in schools make it difficult for people to feel at ease if they do not thoroughly investigate their responsibilities. Although serious punishment of those responsible in accordance with laws and regulations cannot save this young life, only by finding the problem and solving it can we avoid more similar tragedies.