College apologizes for sacking sick teacher who later died

Lanzhou Jiaotong University Bowen College apologized to Liu Lingli's family for its dismissal of Liu in an open letter posted on its official website on Monday.

The letter said it's wrong to dismiss the teacher who was suffering from cancer before the college has had all the information.

"While we were discussing the matter, Liu sadly passed away. We are sorry for what we've done to you, for hurting you and for setting a wrong precedent in the society. Again, we are sincerely sorry," said the letter.

In the letter, the college also expressed its desire to make it up for its mistake by cooperating to solve all the resulting problems.

It added that it will review its mistakes and strengthen regulations.

The apology comes after courts ruled the dismissal unjustified and the college came under a wave of public anger.

The school, after Liu's death sparked fury, suspended the head of its human resources department, Jiang Xueyun, according to a report by thepaper.cn.

The college earlier said it would pay 57,600 yuan ($8,600) for the period from September 2014 to August when Liu was on sick leave and 14,400 yuan in compensation the her family.

The case caught public attention when the college fired a teacher who was suffering from ovarian cancer and who subsequently died.

Reportedly there have been three other cases of teachers being sacked by the college after they went on sick leave due to serious illnesses.