According to SCMP, recently, a kindergarten in Chongqing (China) was sued by its principal after firing him last year, just because the principal received a box of chocolate worth about 6 yuan (about 21,000 VND) from a student.
This incident immediately caused a stir and attracted great public attention on social media.
According to information from China National Radio, in September last year, Ms. Wang - principal of Sanxia Kindergarten in Chongqing city, China received a gift of a box of chocolate worth 6 yuan (about 21 thousand VND) from a young student and then shared the chocolate with other students in the school.
Traditionally, Chinese students send small gifts or greeting cards to their teachers ahead of Teachers' Day on September 10. These gifts are usually simple items such as chocolates or cards, to show gratitude and respect.
However, in Ms. Wang's case, the school accused her of violating regulations of the Chinese Ministry of Education, which prohibits teachers from accepting gifts or money in any form from students or parents. This is also the reason Ms. Wang was fired.
Dissatisfied with the school's decision, Ms. Wang recently filed a lawsuit with the Jiulongpo District People's Court in early March this year.
At the first hearing, the kindergarten argued that accepting any gift, no matter how small, violated regulations and damaged the school's reputation.
However, the court ruled that Ms. Wang's dismissal was illegal and ordered the school to pay compensation.
The chocolate gift from the student was a sign of love and respect, and Ms. Wang's actions should not be considered a violation of the law, the court said.
The kindergarten filed an appeal, and in August, the Chongqing No. 5 Intermediate People's Court upheld the original verdict after a second trial.
The incident became a trending topic on Chinese social media, with more than 7.2 million views on Douyin alone.
One social media user commented: "This is ridiculous! She was fired for accepting a gift worth only 6 yuan?" Meanwhile, another said: "As a teacher, I feel extremely disappointed. The punishment is too severe."
Shanghai TV in an editorial published in early September stated clearly: "What the public is against is teachers asking for gifts and parents competing to buy expensive gifts to give to teachers, not children showing gratitude to teachers."
