MOSCOW, Feb 1: Prosecutors said on Thursday they were investigating allegations that workers at a Russian hospital taped infants' mouths shut in order keep them from crying, in a scandal that has sparked outrage in the country.

In a separate incident raising further concern at the ailing state of Russia's health system, a criminal probe began at a kindergarten where an employee gave unauthorized injections to children to help them sleep.

The alleged taping incident at a hospital in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg has received wide coverage in the Russian media.

According to a statement posted on the Prosecutor General's website, investigators found hospital workers on several occasions allegedly used tape or sticking plaster to shut the mouths of infants to silence them.—AP