Children who kill in China to be sent home to mum and dad under law change
- Review comes as Chinese public still reeling after case of 10-year-old girl killed by 13-year-old boy
China’s lawmakers are deliberating a draft amendment to the juvenile crime law that would no longer send delinquents to foster care – just as the country is embroiled in a debate over the treatment of young criminals.
The review coincides with a widespread call for tougher penalties after a 13-year-old boy was accused last week of killing a 10-year-old girl in northeastern China. According to police in Dalian, Liaoning province, the boy took the girl to his home on October 20 and tried to sexually assault her before stabbing her repeatedly. He then hid her body in bushes near their block of flats.
Minors under 14 are not held to be criminally responsible in China and, under existing law, the boy was taken into foster care. But, under the proposed amendments to the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention Law, children below the age of 14 would be returned to parental supervision after committing criminal acts, including murder.
Under existing law, delinquents under 14 can be educated by their parents at home or taken into state custody when necessary. In practice, they are usually left with their parents. Those who are placed in state custody are either sent to special jails for criminals aged between 14 and 18, or special schools designed for them, often under the police system or education authorities.
The draft amendment was reviewed at a bimonthly session of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the country’s top legislative body, last Monday and Saturday, and the proposed elimination of state custody for delinquents under 14 triggered extraordinary controversy, coming hard on the heels of the child killer case.
During last week’s reviews, some legislators addressed the public sentiment by suggesting the parents of underage minors could be punished for neglecting their duties as a countermeasure to the change, while others suggested harsher penalties for the offenders could offer more effective prevention, according to state news agency Xinhua.