China is grappling with a series of murders of girls committed by boys as young as 12 years old. But the communist country’s treatment of juvenile killers is almost as shocking, often sparing them prison time and instead sending them to psychiatric hospitals for short periods. In some cases, juvenile offenders are allowed to return to school immediately after committing their crimes, according to a New York Post report.
While China tries to address the issue of holding children accountable for these notoriously heinous acts perpetrated against other children, victims’ parents are left waiting for justice that may never come.
For many years, countries around the world have grappled with the challenge of striking a balance between imposing punishment and extending mercy to juvenile offenders. This debate is particularly relevant in China, where its historical approach of showing relative leniency to juvenile offenders contrasts sharply with the restricted rights afforded to adult criminal defendants. The Chinese government has long prioritized education and rehabilitation over the incarceration of juvenile offenders.
But recently, there has been growing public protest against this approach. A series of murders committed by minors over the past few years has led many Chinese to call for tougher measures against juvenile crimes. The government has taken notice of these calls for change and has begun to act on the changing public sentiment.
Gong Junli, whose eight-year-old daughter was brutally stabbed to death by a 13-year-old boy, is one of the latest grieving parents waiting for the Supreme People’s Court’s (SPC) decision on whether to impose a prison sentence on her child’s killer.
The single father’s tale of hardship came into the spotlight in March when authorities decided to file criminal charges against the teenage boy, who is suspected of luring the man’s daughter into a wooded area in Xinjing Township in September 2022, Red Star News reported.
Authorities say he went into the woods, stabbed the girl multiple times and left her body amongst the aspen trees.
Authorities reported that the 13-year-old suspect is believed to have collected various items in preparation for the crime, including knives, blades, disposable gloves and plastic rope, which he strategically hid in wooded areas where he invited his victim to play.
Authorities reported that when questioned by police, the teenage suspect showed no remorse and spoke casually about the incident.
China lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 in 2021. However, unlike the United States, children are not sent to detention centers and adult-level penalties are rarely imposed for murder. Even before the 2021 reform, lenient sentencing practices were common, and young offenders were often sent for short periods to juvenile rehabilitation centers or psychological correction facilities.
Despite the new law, cases against minors continue to rise in China. From 2020 to 2023, prosecutors indicted 243,000 minors, with the number of cases growing by an average of 5% per year. The Supreme People’s Court recently announced that it had sentenced 12,000 minors in the first three months of 2024 and issued new guidelines on preventing crimes against minors, suggesting that courts may hold parents or guardians responsible for their children’s actions.
The court notably noted that 30 percent of those who committed violent crimes between 2021 and 2013 were from “left-behind” or single-parent families. “Left-behind” children, who remain in rural areas while their parents work in cities, also account for a significant portion of bullying victims in China. The recent spate of violent incidents has led to growing calls for parents to return home and focus on raising their children, with the Supreme People’s Court urging communities to work together to address the issue.
While China tries to address the issue of holding children accountable for these notoriously heinous acts perpetrated against other children, victims’ parents are left waiting for justice that may never come.
For many years, countries around the world have grappled with the challenge of striking a balance between imposing punishment and extending mercy to juvenile offenders. This debate is particularly relevant in China, where its historical approach of showing relative leniency to juvenile offenders contrasts sharply with the restricted rights afforded to adult criminal defendants. The Chinese government has long prioritized education and rehabilitation over the incarceration of juvenile offenders.
But recently, there has been growing public protest against this approach. A series of murders committed by minors over the past few years has led many Chinese to call for tougher measures against juvenile crimes. The government has taken notice of these calls for change and has begun to act on the changing public sentiment.
Gong Junli, whose eight-year-old daughter was brutally stabbed to death by a 13-year-old boy, is one of the latest grieving parents waiting for the Supreme People’s Court’s (SPC) decision on whether to impose a prison sentence on her child’s killer.
The single father’s tale of hardship came into the spotlight in March when authorities decided to file criminal charges against the teenage boy, who is suspected of luring the man’s daughter into a wooded area in Xinjing Township in September 2022, Red Star News reported.
Authorities say he went into the woods, stabbed the girl multiple times and left her body amongst the aspen trees.
Authorities reported that the 13-year-old suspect is believed to have collected various items in preparation for the crime, including knives, blades, disposable gloves and plastic rope, which he strategically hid in wooded areas where he invited his victim to play.
Authorities reported that when questioned by police, the teenage suspect showed no remorse and spoke casually about the incident.
China lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 in 2021. However, unlike the United States, children are not sent to detention centers and adult-level penalties are rarely imposed for murder. Even before the 2021 reform, lenient sentencing practices were common, and young offenders were often sent for short periods to juvenile rehabilitation centers or psychological correction facilities.
Despite the new law, cases against minors continue to rise in China. From 2020 to 2023, prosecutors indicted 243,000 minors, with the number of cases growing by an average of 5% per year. The Supreme People’s Court recently announced that it had sentenced 12,000 minors in the first three months of 2024 and issued new guidelines on preventing crimes against minors, suggesting that courts may hold parents or guardians responsible for their children’s actions.
The court notably noted that 30 percent of those who committed violent crimes between 2021 and 2013 were from “left-behind” or single-parent families. “Left-behind” children, who remain in rural areas while their parents work in cities, also account for a significant portion of bullying victims in China. The recent spate of violent incidents has led to growing calls for parents to return home and focus on raising their children, with the Supreme People’s Court urging communities to work together to address the issue.
