court sentenced to death on Friday a man who injured 16 children and a teacher in a stabbing spree, the third such punishment after a series of school attacks that shocked the nation.State media also reported a death sentence had been handed to a man who killed eight people including his wife, daughter and elderly mother in a knife rampage in Jiangxi province.
An intermediate court in the southern province of Guangdong sentenced Chen Kangbing to death for the attack in April at a primary school in the city of Leizhou, Xinhua news agency reported.
The assault was one of a number of school attacks that took place from March to May and left 17 people -- including 15 children -- dead and more than 80 injured.
"Chen hacked at the children and teacher in a very cruel manner, causing great harm," the report quoted the court in the city of Zhanjiang as saying, noting he was convicted of "murder" even though no one died.
Chen admitted his guilt during the trial, according to Xinhua. It was not immediately clear if he would appeal.
Aged in his early 30s, Chen is a schoolteacher who was reportedly on sick leave due to mental health problems.
The attacks have prompted emergency measures including stronger school security and stricter monitoring of people known to have mental illnesses, out of fears of copy-cat crimes.
Extra police and security were posted this week outside high schools and road blocks were set up outside test venues as nearly 10 million students sat the country's university entrance exams.
Experts say the assaults show China is paying the price for focusing on economic growth while ignoring problems linked to rapid social change.
Studies have cited a rise in the prevalence of mental disorders in China, some of them linked to stress as society becomes more fast-paced and socialist supports wither.
Other than Chen, two school attackers have already been sentenced to death and executed. Two other attackers committed suicide after their crimes.
One assailant who was executed last month, Xu Yuyuan, said at his trial his motive was to vent rage against society after losing money gambling and in business dealings, and suffering setbacks in his personal life.
The unemployed Xu carried out a bloody assault on 32 people, mostly small children, at a kindergarten in Jiangsu province in April.
A former doctor who stabbed to death eight children and injured five others on March 23 in southeast China was also executed last month.
State media also reported Friday the sentencing to death of 36-year-old Zhou Yezhong, who went on a killing spree in May in the coastal province of Jiangxi.
Court spokesman Long Xiaomao said Zhou had gambling problems and began his bloody rampage after a fight with his wife.
At the time of the attack, Xinhua cited witnesses as saying Zhou first killed his 10-year-old daughter and then his mother, aged in her eighties, even though she fell to her knees begging for mercy.
He then rushed to another house where he killed his wife and two neighbours before stabbing two other villagers who were running for help, and a migrant worker.
Premier Wen Jiabao said last month long-standing social concerns such as unemployment and a growing gap between rich and poor were partially to blame for the string of attacks.
"We need to resolve the deep-seated causes that have resulted in these problems," Wen told Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television. "This includes handling social contradictions, resolving disputes and strengthening mediation at the grassroots level."
0 comments:
Post a Comment