Teenager sentenced to life for stabbing medical staff

A court sentenced a teenager to life in prison on Friday for killing a medical intern and stabbing three other workers at a northeastern Chinese hospital, in a case seen as a symptom of frustration over a dysfunctional health care system.

The attack by Li Mengnan was part of a recent spate of violence by patients against medical staff that has alarmed the government.

A court in the northeastern city of Harbin found Li guilty of intentional homicide and sentenced him on Friday morning, his uncle, Li Chunming, told reporters by phone. The court decided against a death sentence because he is not yet 18, the age of adulthood in China.

Li Mengnan, 17, randomly attacked medical staff with a fruit knife on March 23 after accusing a doctor of refusing to provide treatment for a chronic spinal condition. He killed 28-year-old medical intern Wang Hao and injured three others.

Security officials detained Li in the hospital emergency room, where he was seeking treatment for injuries he suffered in the attack.

Li told state broadcaster CCTV after he was detained that he had become frustrated with the hospital.