They usually ran out to play, leaving no message to their family. Before their deaths, they had been out for 11 days, leaving their family and teachers unaware of their whereabouts, until the parents were called to identify their bodies.
The boys deserted school because "they were getting poor grades and disliked learning", said Tao Yuanwu, a father of two of the boys.
A local resident surnamed Li who first revealed this case online said many residents living nearby knew the five children had wandered on streets for days.
"They took a shabby shed in a construction site near the dumpster and ate some discarded vegetables in the market and played football that they had picked up," he told China Central Television on Monday.
The tragedy sparked an outburst of grief from the public, who blamed the children's guardians and local authorities for failing to take care of the youngsters.
"Where were their parents when they needed care? Where were their teachers? Where were the social welfare institutions? Where were local officials?" asked Shi Shusi, a well-known news commentator, on his micro blog.
"A society unable to treat its children well is hopeless."
"The 'bring children home' project launched by eight central government departments last year was aimed at cleaning all Chinese cities' streets of homeless children by the end of this year. Why did city authorities in Bijie fail to notice these five kids who wandered the streets for three weeks?" the People's Daily said in a commentary on Tuesday.
Bijie, a land-locked, resource-rich city with 7 million people, is perched on craggy mountains. Many local peasants left home in search of well-paying jobs in cities, leaving their children under the custody of grandparents or distant relatives.
The city government of Bijie said late on Tuesday it will thoroughly check the situation of left-behind children and set up a foundation dedicated to helping those children.
Chen Changxu, Bijie's mayor, said the government will learn from the tragedy and spare no efforts to prevent such incidents in the future.
Among the three fathers, Tao Jinyou was the only one who stayed in their rural hometown, toiling on farmlands for a living. His son, Tao Zhonglin, quit school two years ago and sometimes helped him herd cattle. "At first, I sent him back to school by force. But every time he would run away again, so I knew it was hopeless," Tao Jinyou said.
Landmark building should respect the public's feeling
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