Legal awareness encouraged to reduce crime risks

The recent prison terms handed to two teenagers who killed their classmate in Handan, Hebei province, have sent ripples across China, once again sparking a national discussion on the prevention of juvenile crime and child protection.

At the end of December, the Handan Intermediate People's Court sentenced the pair, one to life in prison and the other to 12 years behind bars, for intentional homicide. A third child who was present but did not take part in the planning or the carrying out of the crime was given specialized rehabilitation.

The killing shocked the country, as the perpetrators and the victim were just 13 years old when the case happened, while details released in the ruling have prompted people to further think about issues related to school bullying and left-behind children behind.

According to the verdict, on the afternoon of March 10 last year, a teenager surnamed Zhang deceived his classmate Wang into going to a greenhouse after plotting to kill him with another teenager surnamed Li, who also went to the greenhouse with another boy, Ma, who was unaware of the plan.

After their arrival, Zhang began attacking Wang with a shovel, while Li was responsible for restraining Wang. In the midst of the attack, Ma left the crime scene, and Zhang and Li continued beating Wang to death, then burying his body in the greenhouse. Later, the three fled the scene on bikes.

Zhang divided the money on Wang's mobile phone with Li, and asked Ma and Li to smash and dispose of it.

Upon realizing that Wang was missing, his family turned to the police. Ma confessed to the offense during the investigation and took police to the crime scene.

The court also revealed that Zhang and Li had conflicts with Wang, and planned to kill him and take his money, adding that it was Zhang who chose the abandoned greenhouse as the crime scene where he took shovels ahead of time to bury the body.

Chinese media had previously reported that Wang had been bullied by the perpetrators, and that all the minors in the case lacked parental companionship, let alone family supervision and education.

"It's an individual case, but needs our deep reflection to figure out why it happened," said Fang Yan, a lawyer at JT&N Law firm.

She praised the intensified efforts by governmental and judicial authorities last year to prevent juvenile crime, such as specifying anti-bullying measures and providing stronger care for left-behind children. However, she added, more joint efforts are still needed.