On August 22nd, a freshman female student at Mengzhuang High School in Huixian City, Henan Province was found dead on campus. Following the incident, the parents of the student placed a wreath in front of the school with a banner condemning the school for evading responsibility and demanding the truth. The news of “Henan freshman girl found dead on campus” quickly went viral, drawing social attention.
Videos from the scene showed a wreath placed at the school gate, with a middle-aged woman holding up a photo of the student while speaking. According to local netizens, the deceased student was from “Daluoan Camp, Wucun Town.”
Informed netizens revealed that the incident was triggered by the extreme heat, as the school also required military training. The student had been feeling unwell before, suffered a heat stroke on the 22nd, toughed it out, but then had an asthma attack at night and unfortunately passed away due to lack of medication.
A netizen claiming to be from a neighboring village stated, “The child was sick and asked for leave, the teacher didn’t allow it, asked the parents to bring medicine. When the parents brought it, they wanted to see the child, but the security guards did not allow it, just took the medicine and hurried them away, the parents had no choice but to leave it with the security guard, and as a result, the security guard didn’t inform the child to pick up the medicine, and the child died in the dorm at night.”
In response to this, the staff of Mengzhuang High School in Huixian City replied on August 23rd to Dawayan News, saying that the online rumors were untrue. The deceased student was a freshman, showed no signs of abnormality before the incident, and even talked to her parents on the phone before going to bed that night. On the morning of August 22nd, when the student did not get up, classmates called her, received no response, the teacher rushed over, called 120 emergency hotline, but by the time they arrived, there were no signs of life.
The school’s response has drawn criticism from local netizens, with comments such as, “They are really thorough in dodging responsibility.” “The school distorts the facts and doesn’t allow medication to be delivered.” “The girl had an asthma attack, but the school security didn’t allow the medicine to be sent.” “It was clearly because the military training was too exhausting, and the girl wasn’t feeling well, but they didn’t let the parents in with the medicine. At that time, the parents themselves said it at the school gate, now the school refuses to admit it, this is outrageous.” “People in my local area all know about this, spreading false rumors.” “My child’s classmate, the gate guard didn’t allow the medicine to be sent, hating that Mengzhuang High School. Who would dare to go to such a school in the future.”
Many local netizens expressed, “When delivering things, they have to check them one by one at the gate, even chicken legs are not allowed, saying they cause irritation.” “The school just shifts the blame, I’ve been there, not allowing deliveries happens often.”
The incident became a trending topic. Netizens commented, “Schools nowadays are so dark, how can children be safe? That’s why young people don’t want to get married and have children, it’s too difficult.” “Schools nowadays are so arrogant, why not allow parents to send medicine, why not allow children who are unwell to go home, and when a child dies they shirk responsibility.” “What’s spread on the internet might be closer to the truth! Official responses are basically lies!” “The common people are truly pitiful.” “It’s schools again, so many children die in schools nowadays, either the surveillance cameras are broken or they don’t let family members see, it’s too much.”
According to reports, relevant departments stated that external forces were ruled out as the cause and an agreement was reached with the parents. Online comments from relatives of the deceased student stated, “Compensation of 600,000 yuan has been paid, it was my cousin’s child.”