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Recently, in China, a brutal murder case has shocked the nation: A 13-year-old middle school student who was cruelly killed and secretly buried by three of his classmates.
On the 19th, China Central Television (CCTV) reported heated debates about appropriate punishment for underage offenders in light of the tragic murder case that unfolded in Handan City, Hebei Province, on the 10th.
Wang Ziyao, 13, was a middle school student in Feixiang district of Handan. He reportedly went missing after going out to meet his friend.
The police identified three classmates as suspects based on surveillance camera footage, although initially, they denied involvement in the crime.
Later, the police discovered that the victim had transferred some money to one of the three suspects and confirmed the crime through interrogation.
After killing Wang, the three suspects are secretly buried in an abandoned vegetable shed nearby. The police also confirmed that they had dug the ground to bury the body before the murder.
It was also revealed that Wang Mogun had suffered bullying at the school by them before his death.
Many Chinese people are calling for severe punishment, stating, “Even if they are young, they should be sentenced to death” because this case involved a brutal crime committed by teenagers.
This case is expected to be the first example of applying a revised criminal law that lowers the age of criminal punishment.
Unlike in Korea, where the age of criminal responsibility is 14, China lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 in the “Criminal Law of China” revised in 2020.
If a suspect aged between 12 and 14 commits a particularly brutal and serious crime, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate can approve the prosecution and criminal liability of the suspect.
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