Beijing — China has executed two men who carried out deadly attacks that killed dozens in November, raising concerns about a rise in what it calls “social crime revenge,” state media reported Monday.
Fan Weiq, 62, who authorities said crashed his car into the crowd in front of the sports stadium in the southern city of Zhuhai, killing at least 35 people and seriously injuring at least 43 others, was executed on Monday. The attack, which authorities said was the country’s deadliest in more than a decade, came on the eve of the premier People’s Liberation Army air show held in the city every year. Police said Fan was upset about his divorce settlement.
Tingshu Wang / REUTERS
Also in November, 21-year-old Xu Jiajin killed eight people and wounded 17 others in a knife attack at his vocational school in the eastern city of Wuxi. Police said Wu failed exams and was unable to graduate and was unhappy with his internship salary. He was also executed on Monday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The death sentences of the two men were handed down by the High People’s Courts in the cities of Zhuhai and Wuxi in December and approved by the Supreme People’s Court, according to state media.
The killings prompted Chinese President Xi Jinping to urge local authorities to take measures to prevent such attacks, known as “revenge for social crimes”.
China has witnessed numerous attacks in which suspects appear to target random people, including school children. In October, a 50-year-old man was detained after allegedly attacking children at a school in Beijing with a knife. Five people were injured. In September, three people were killed in a knife attack in a supermarket in Shanghai.
China is believed to execute more prisoners each year than the rest of the world combined, although the exact total is considered a state secret. Executions are traditionally carried out by firing squad, although lethal injection has been introduced in recent years.
