A Chinese court sentenced a teenager to life imprisonment on Monday for the brutal murder of his 13-year-old classmate, a case that has reignited discussions on juvenile justice in the country.
The incident occurred in April when three boys, all under 14 at the time, were accused of bullying the victim, surnamed Wang, for an extended period before killing him in an abandoned greenhouse. According to court findings, the perpetrators attacked Wang with a shovel and buried his body, sparking nationwide outrage.
The court in Hebei province found one defendant, surnamed Zhang, guilty of intentional homicide and sentenced him to life in prison. Another suspect, surnamed Li, received a 12-year prison sentence, while a third boy, surnamed Ma, who was determined not to have harmed Wang, was ordered to undergo correctional education.
The case marked one of the first applications of China’s revised criminal law, which in 2021 lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 for “special cases” involving heinous crimes like murder. Prosecutors argued that the defendants, despite being under 14, were legally culpable due to the “particularly cruel means” used in the killing and the “vile circumstances” of the crime.
Under Chinese law, murder convictions can result in imprisonment or the death penalty, but juveniles are typically exempt from capital punishment.
The grim details of the case have intensified calls for stricter measures to prevent juvenile crime and ensure accountability for young offenders involved in severe acts of violence.
