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29-12-2024
BEIJING: A court in China has sentenced a man to death for killing 35 people last month by driving into a crowd, in an attack that raised national concern about mass killings.
Fan Weiqiu was venting his anger because he was unhappy with his divorce settlement, the court in the southern city of Zhuhai said in handing down the sentence on Friday.
The victims were exercising at a sports centre. Fan pleaded guilty to endangering public safety by dangerous means, a court statement said.
Fan’s “criminal motive was extremely despicable, the nature of the crime was extremely vile, the means of the crime were particularly cruel, and the consequences of the crime were particularly severe, resulting in great social harm”, the court said.
The attack on November 11 was one of the deadliest attacks in contemporary Chinese history.
It was among a spate of violent attacks that have recently raised questions about public safety in China, where citizens have long been proud of streets safe from violence.
The attacks spurred Chinese leader Xi Jinping to order local governments to take steps to prevent future “extreme cases”.
His order prompted pledges from local leaders to examine personal disputes that could trigger aggression, from marital troubles to disagreements over inheritance.
Some analysts have linked the incidents to growing anger and desperation at the country’s slowing economy and a sense that society is becoming more stratified.
A court earlier this week gave a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve to a driver who injured 30 people when he drove into elementary school students and parents in Hunan province. Such sentences are usually commuted to life in prison. The court in the city of Changde said the driver was taking out his frustration after losing money he had invested.
Chinese authorities keep a tight lid on any reports about the attacks, censoring videos and witness accounts posted on social media and releasing only basic information, often many hours later.
The death toll in Zhuhai was not announced until 24 hours after the attack. In addition to the 35 people killed, 43 were injured, police said.
The 62-year-old driver, Fan, was found in his vehicle trying to stab himself with a knife, a police statement said.
Police set up barricades the day after the attack and barred people from entering the sports complex. Members of the public left bouquets by an adjacent square instead.
At least 35 people were killed and 43 injured after a car ploughed into a crowd outside a sports centre in China’s southern Zhuhai city, police said.
The hit-and-run took place at 7:48pm on Monday, when a man drove a small off-road vehicle into a large group of people exercising outside the sports centre. It was only reported by police on Tuesday.
Zhuhai police said the suspect, a 62-year-old man surnamed Fan, was being treated at a hospital after hurting himself with a knife in his car.
Police called it a “serious and vicious attack”, but said the 43 people injured people were not in life-threatening condition.
A video of the scene following the attack, verified by the Reuters news agency, showed at least 20 people lying on the ground. Cries of “terrorist” could be heard as ambulances arrived to take the injured to hospital.
Fan was apprehended by police at the scene after attempting to flee, police said, adding that he had self-harmed using a knife, causing severe neck injuries. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
