The administration at the International Indian School Riyadh (IISR) has been asked to investigate a case in which 15 female primary school girls became victim of food poisoning.

The incident occurred on Thursday during school hours after the involved girls consumed what was believed to have been tainted Chinese chocolates that they bought from their school canteen.

“As soon as I knew about the incident, I spoke to the school administration, and they have been asked to investigate the matter and punish those responsible, in order to stop the recurrence of such an unfortunate incident in the future,” Hifzur Rahman, an observer of Indian schools in the Kingdom, told Arab News on Saturday.

The victims complained of abdominal pains and vomiting around break-time on Thursday morning, when they were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital in Malaz district, where they were treated.

“After treatment, all of them were discharged,” a school teacher said, adding that some of the students were taken home directly from the hospital by the parents, while others returned to school and then went to their homes later.

Shaukat Pervez, the IISR principal, looked into the situation for himself.

Notably, several parents who spoke to Arab News have also urged the school administration to take appropriate action against the canteen management for their indifferent callous attitude during the situation, and to encourage them to punish those liable, so that this kind of panic is avoided in the future.