New | Three Chinese boys, aged 11 to 13, kill teacher during robbery

Three boys aged 11 to 13 attacked and killed a teacher and robbed her of a cellphone and 2,000 yuan (HK$2,400) in cash in southern China, state media reported on Tuesday.

The boys were hanging out around an elementary school in the township of Lianqiao in Hunan province on Sunday when they decided to rob the only teacher guarding the school, The Beijing News reported.

The boys – who are pupils at other schools – beat the 52-year-old teacher with a wooden stick, stuffed her mouth with cloth and dragged her into a bathroom, where she died.

The report said the children ran away with the teacher’s cellphone and about 2,000 yuan in cash. They were arrested on Monday.

A police officer reached by phone confirmed the case but declined to give more details.

Other media reports said the three boys were “left behind” children, which means their parents are migrant workers who go to more industrial Chinese cities for jobs and leave their children in their hometowns under the care of others, often their grandparents.