Quake victims consider legal action
30 May 2008
Parents of children killed when a school in Dujiangyan collapsed during the May 12 earthquake may pursue legal action against local officials they believe are responsible for the school's sub-standard construction, the Financial Times reported. Parents at Juyuan Middle School on the outskirts of Dujiangyan, where 289 students and teachers died, have pooled money to hire legal representation. Few other buildings in the area have collapsed. The Education Ministry has said it will "severely punish" anyone found responsible for sub-standard construction work. Overall, the official pupil death count from the earthquake is 4,737 and rising.