China investigating child sexual abuse allegations against nursery in Beijing

Teachers suspended as city carries out inspections after horrific reports concerning kindergarten operated by RYB Education

A woman carries a child as they arrive at the RYB kindergarten in Beijing (Ng Han Guan/AP)

Chinese authorities are investigating allegations that children attending a kindergarten in Beijing run by a US-listed company have been abused and molested.

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Education said on Friday it would inspect kindergartens in the Chinese capital, a day after the reports drew widespread attention.

The influential news magazine Caixin and other Chinese media outlets quoted horrified parents saying their children were molested, forced to strip as punishment, found with unexplained needle marks on their bodies and made to take unidentified white pills.

The company, RYB Education, says in a statement it's cooperating with the investigation and has suspended some teachers at the school.

Beijing-based RYB's shares are traded in the US It operates 1,300 daycare centres and nearly 500 kindergartens in 300 Chinese cities.

AP

• An earlier version of this article said RYB Education was a US company. While it is listed in the US, it is in fact a Chinese company.