BEIJING (Reuters) – A court in northern China handed long prison terms to two teenagers for killing a classmate with a shovel in March, state media reported on Monday, in a case that has sparked a fierce public debate over juvenile delinquency.
The male suspects, surnamed Zhang and Li, were sentenced to life and 12 years in prison for intentional homicide by a court in the city of Handan in Hebei province, CCTV said, but no motive was given.
The court found that the killing methods “were particularly cruel and the circumstances particularly heinous”, it added.
The third suspect, surnamed Ma, escaped with a sentence of “special correctional education”, in accordance with the law, the television station said. All three were 13 years old at the time of the murder.
They were detained a day after the body of the 13-year-old victim, surnamed Wang, was found buried in a shallow pit in an abandoned greenhouse on the outskirts of the city on March 10, state media reported.
The court said that Zhang bore the main responsibility for killing Wang with a shovel and initially devised the murder plan, while Li, his main accomplice, joined in the killing and subsequent burial.
Ma followed the couple to the scene of the murder and witnessed the murder, but did not participate.
In 2021, China lowered the age of criminal responsibility to 12 from 14 for certain crimes, but kept minors exempt from the death penalty.
Suspects between the ages of 12 and 14 can face criminal liability for serious crimes such as premeditated murder if the prosecutor general approves the charges.
At the time of the crime, state media said all four were descendants of rural migrant workers who spend most of the year working in big cities, leaving grandparents and other relatives to care for their children.
Census data from 2020 show that there are nearly 67 million so-called “backward” children. Academic studies show that they are at greater risk of mental health problems, becoming victims of bullying and criminal behavior.
At the time, some social media commentators and lawyers called for the death penalty, saying juveniles had received inadequate sentences for serious crimes in recent years.
