Fired for Accepting a 1000-Won Chocolate as a 'Bribe'
A kindergarten principal in China who was fired for accepting chocolate from a student won a legal battle.
According to the Chongqing Daily on the 2nd, Wang, a principal of a kindergarten in Chongqing, was dismissed in September 2023 because of chocolate given by a student. On that day, the child gave Wang a small chocolate as a gift to celebrate China’s “Teacher’s Day.” The chocolate was priced at 6.6 yuan, approximately 1,200 Korean won. After receiving the chocolate, Wang hugged the child and expressed gratitude.
However, the kindergarten took issue with this. They claimed that as a managerial staff member, the principal’s acceptance of gifts from parents and children violated the Ministry of Education’s “Regulations prohibiting improper acceptance of gifts or money from students and parents.” They ordered Wang to be transferred to a branch or demoted to a regular teacher. Wang refused both and was eventually fired.
Wang filed a lawsuit claiming the kindergarten’s decision was unfair and requested compensation. The main point of contention in the lawsuit was the nature of the gift. Wang argued, “The chocolate given by the student was merely a token of appreciation for the teacher’s hard work with no other intent.” He explained that he shared the chocolate with other students, so there was no reason to dismiss him.
On the other hand, the kindergarten argued, “As the principal, Wang was fully aware of the Ministry of Education’s guidelines and knew that accepting gifts violated the relevant regulations. After the incident, he tried to avoid responsibility by citing the small value of the gift and his good relationship with the student, showing no sign of remorse.” They claimed the termination of the employment contract was lawful.
The Chinese court ruled in favor of Wang. The court stated, “Based on CCTV footage, the gift appears to be an expression of love and respect from the child to the teacher in the child’s own way.” It added, “This is different in nature from expensive gifts or securities, and it is difficult to see that Wang used his position for personal gain.” Furthermore, the court said, “Although receiving the gift was improper, considering the value of the chocolate, the severity is not serious and is deemed acceptable.” The court ruled the kindergarten’s dismissal as ‘illegal.’ The kindergarten appealed the first trial decision but ultimately lost.
After the story became known, local netizens expressed various reactions such as, “What meaning could chocolate from a child have?”, “It seems they just needed an excuse to get rid of Principal Wang,” “It’s Teacher’s Day, so what’s the problem?”, “There are teachers who receive much worse things,” “Are they just upset because they couldn’t receive it themselves?”, “Is this a world where you can’t even accept gifts from babies now?”, “What would someone do by bribing the principal?”
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