A TEACHER forced two schoolgirls to drink a bottle of liquor between them as punishment for neglecting their studies, Chinese media reported yesterday (Oct 23).

The middle school students were sent to hospital Friday in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, suffering from vomiting and dizziness after they drank the baijiu - a powerful grain-based alcohol which means "white liquor" in Chinese.

"The teacher found a hair curler and a letter among their belongings, so he decided to punish them for not concentrating on their studies," the Beijing News said.

"At the teacher's insistence, the two girls had to finish one bottle of baijiu against their will."

A schoolboy who spoke out against the punishment was beaten by the same teacher, it said.

The report did not say whether the teacher would face punishment.

In September, a history teacher in Hunan beat an 11-year-old student senseless and threw her from a fourth-floor classroom window, killing her in a so-far unexplained frenzy.

Editor: Wing