TAIYUAN - A female teacher in a kindergarten in north China's Shanxi Province has been detained by police after she smacked children, authorities said Tuesday.

Li Zhuqing, who slapped a five-year-old girl in the face and other children at the Sky Montessori Kindergarten in Yingze District of the capital Taiyuan, is under a 15-day administrative detention, said a spokesman with the district.

The kindergarten, with 43 children, was ordered to close down.

The girl's father called the police after he found his daughter had swollen eyes and bruises on October 15. According to the father, the girl was punished because she was slow at arithmetics.

A surveillance camera recorded the girl being hit repeatedly for more than ten minutes. The video of the abuse was released by local media.

Authorities in Taiyuan started a one-month inspection of all kindergartens on Monday, vowing to shut down those with serious problems.