Recently, a 7-year-old boy in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, tragically fell to his death while attending a tutoring class taught by a retired teacher in Room 1402 of Building 16 in the Hu Cui Bay residential complex in the Lucheng District of Wenzhou.
According to reports from multiple media outlets in mainland China on August 6th, the boy’s aunt, Ms. Wang, revealed that her nephew, Zeng Hongbo, was scheduled to start second grade in September. During the summer vacation, the boy’s parents, who were introduced by someone, paid 1800 yuan for him to attend a language and writing training class twice a week for five weeks. The class was organized by a local retired female teacher surnamed Cao, who was said to be well-known. Tragically, the incident occurred only one week into the course.
On the day of the incident, Ms. Wang’s sister entered the residential building where the tutoring class was located at around 8:26 pm to pick up her child. Before she could even exit the elevator, she heard other students shouting that “Zeng Hongbo had fallen from upstairs.” Rushing downstairs, she found the child lying in the green area near the building, with no sign of the tutor. She, along with other passersby, rushed the child to a nearby hospital for treatment, but sadly, the rescue efforts were in vain, and the child passed away.
Hospital records showed that Zeng Hongbo suffered head injuries, lung contusions, kidney damage, abdominal injuries, lumbar spine fractures, and abdominal fluid accumulation and bleeding. The cause of death, as per the forensic report, was a ruptured inferior vena cava.
Ms. Wang revealed that it was learned afterward that the child fell from a window in a small room inside, where there was no safety railing. The window was open but covered with curtains. The police stated that “the child fell while holding onto the curtain, which was found near the fourth floor.”
However, Zeng Hongbo’s mother expressed disbelief that her child would climb out the window and fall on his own, as he had always been timid and even feared riding the elevator alone.
In grief, Zeng Hongbo’s mother lamented that she never imagined that her youngest son, born when she was 42 years old, would meet with such a tragic fate during a tutoring session.
Family members, noting that only Cao was present at the scene as an adult, urgently sought to understand the details of the incident. The Lucheng District Education Bureau in Wenzhou had tried to facilitate a meeting between Cao and the family, but Cao remained tearful and did not provide any explanation to the family.
Repeated attempts by mainland media reporters to contact Cao, the teacher of the tutoring class, via phone calls went unanswered, and text messages did not receive a response.
In response to the incident, staff from the Puxie Market Police Station of the Lucheng District Public Security Bureau in Wenzhou stated that the local police station has initiated an investigation into the matter.