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.
China opens debate on the age of criminal responsibility
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.
The amendment would also divide juvenile delinquencies into three types: delinquent behaviour, serious delinquent behaviour and criminal behaviour, with different solutions for the prevention and treatment of the offenders, but they would not apply to those under the age of 14.
Under Chinese law, young people aged between 14 and 16 can be held responsible only for serious offences such as murder and rape, while those between 16 and 18 are responsible for all offences.
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Professor Song Yinghui, an expert on juvenile crime from Beijing Normal University, said a system which aimed to treat minors below the age of criminal responsibility was necessary even with the removal of the current foster care provision, which has previously been criticised for focusing on punishment rather than education.
“What we need to do is to improve the system, not remove it,” Song said. “No matter what it is called, I think we need somewhere to treat these children. Leaving them in society may lead to further crimes, and in some sense do more harm to them.
“The fact that they commit crimes suggests their parents are unable to manage them. They won’t be rectified by their parents after committing crimes,” he said.
China is set to eliminate another re-education-oriented foster system for adults, a form of long-term restriction of physical freedom targeting people involved in prostitution, Guangdong-based lawyer Zhu Zhengfu told mainland media in March during the two sessions.
Like the one for minors, it is implemented by police without going through court hearings, and is therefore contradictory to the constitution and legally groundless, he said.
