The three suspects, all aged under 14 at the time of the murder, are accused of bullying a 13-year-old middle-school classmate surnamed Wang over a long period before killing him last month in Hebei.
China lowered its age of criminal responsibility in 2021 from the international norm of 14 to 12 for “special cases” such as inflicting death by “extremely cruel means”.Under Chinese law, murder is punishable by imprisonment or the death penalty, but those under 18 cannot be given the death penalty despite the lowered age of criminal responsibility.
The Gansu and the Hebei case involve “left behind children” – those who are left in the countryside with family members while the parents go to the cities to work. Data from the 2020 census shows that there are nearly 67 million such children, who are at higher risk of mental health problems, criminal behaviour and being bullied.
It said it had concluded that the three were between 12 and 14 when they “intentionally committed murder, causing the death of the victim Wang”.