Licenses revoked at drug scandal-hit kindergartens

XI'AN - Two preschools at the center of the antiviral drug scandal in Xi'an, northwest China's Shanxi Province, have had their licenses revoked, the local government confirmed on Saturday.

Two new public kindergartens will be established on the sites of the Hongji Xincheng and Fengyun kindergartens, which are accused of having administered antiviral drugs to children since 2008.

Children from the original two private kindergartens will have priority to enter the public kindergartens, which will open on Monday with new staff.

An investigation found that the kindergartens gave prescription medicine moroxydine ABOB to children to "prevent colds, enhance resistance and improve their attendance" without notifying their parents.

There were about 1,400 children in the two kindergartens, which both belong to the same legal representative.

As of March 18, 1,028 children have had physical examinations organized by Xi'an municipal government. A team of medical experts will provide periodical medical checks for children in the schools.

Police have six people in custody for their parts in the events.

Over the past few days, several other kindergartens in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, northeastern Jilin and central Hubei provinces have also been accused of giving children moroxydine.