Chinese news reports have cited parents who said their children in one kindergarten class spoke of being fed pale pills that made them drowsy. Other parents have shared pictures of what they say appeared to be small jab marks on their children. Other parents have said that children described naked adults forcing them to take off their clothes.

The police gave assurances Friday that they were examining the allegations. So far, they have not publicly commented on their veracity. Parents were taking action, nonetheless. On Thursday, dozens gathered outside the kindergarten to demand answers. Others came to pull their children out and demand a refund on tuition.

“Right now my wife and I don’t know if we should believe the allegations, but there is no way we would feel safe to put our daughter here,” said Zhang Zhiqiang, whose 2-year-old was in an early education course at the kindergarten that cost more than $2,700 a year.

“This kindergarten is very popular in our neighborhood. It’s competitive to secure a seat,” he said, adding, “I saw the news yesterday and decided our daughter will no longer spend any time here.”

Throughout Friday, dozens of people stood outside the kindergarten gate, most of them nearby residents. Later in the afternoon, about 20 guards came to provide security just before parents arrived to pick up their children. Most parents quickly walked away, ignoring questions from reporters and shielding their children’s faces.

RYB Education (the letters stand for red, yellow and blue), which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, directly operates 80 kindergartens across China and has franchise operators for 175 more.

“Our professional and high-quality teachers and principals and, more important, our established system to effectively train, grow and retain teaching staff and management talents underpin our high-quality education services,” the company said in its prospectus.