BEIJING: A court in northern China handed lengthy prison terms to two teenagers for murdering their classmate with a shovel in March, state media said on Monday, in a case that triggered heated public debate on juvenile delinquency.

The male suspects surnamed Zhang and Li were sentenced to life and 12 years in jail respectively for intentional homicide by a court in the city of Handan in the province of Hebei, CCTV said, but no motive was given.

The court found the methods of the killing “were particularly cruel, and the circumstances were particularly heinous”, it added. A third suspect surnamed Ma escaped with a sentence of “special correctional education”, in line with the law, the broadcaster said. All three were aged 13 at the time of the murder.

They were detained the day after the body of the 13-year-old victim, surnamed Wang, was found on March 10, buried in a shallow pit in an abandoned greenhouse on the city’s outskirts, state media said.

The court said Zhang bore principal responsibility for killing Wang with a shovel and initially devised the murder plan, while Li, his main accomplice, joined in the killing and subsequent burial.

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2024