Chinese man in school attack gets suspended death sentence

A Chinese court has handed a suspended death sentence to a man who injured over a dozen children by ramming his car into a crowd outside a primary school in central China.

Thirty people, including 18 schoolchildren, were hurt in the incident in Changde City on 19 November. It was the third attack on a crowd in China in the span of one week.

The suspended death sentence for Huang Wen could be commuted to life imprisonment if he does not commit another crime in the next two years.

The ruling however sparked criticism online, with some social media users accusing the court of being lenient on Huang.

In a statement, the court said Huang carried out the attack to vent his anger after dealing with investment losses and family conflict.

The sentencing marked the first time the exact number of injuries from the Changde City incident was known. Many posts about it have been scrubbed from social media.

Just days before, a man who was reportedly unhappy over his divorce settlement, ploughed his car into a crowd in Zhuhai, killing 35 people.

Some observers have described such attacks as acts of vengeance against society. Others say these incidents underscore some people’s pent-up frustrations over China’s economy.

“Why does he deserve a suspension?” one Weibo user said of Huang.

“Such vicious cases need to be dealt with seriously and swiftly for deterrence,” another commented.

Videos that circulated immediately after the attack showed children lying on the ground, others fleeing in panic, and an angry pedestrian banging on Huang’s car with a snow shovel while he was still inside.

The court said Huang’s actions at that time reflected the “extremely severe criminal circumstances” he was in.

As part of his sentence, Huang was also stripped of political rights for life