Prosecution of juveniles sends a clear message

Weeks after three middle school students allegedly murdered their classmate in Handan, Hebei province, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate has decided to approve the prosecution of the three juveniles, aged 12 to 14.

That’s in accordance with the law. Amendment XI to the Criminal Law, which came into effect on March 1, 2021, added a paragraph saying a person aged 12 to 14 who causes intentional homicide or intentional injury, resulting in death or causing serious disability to another person by particularly cruel means, and the circumstances are heinous, shall be held criminally responsible upon approval of prosecution by the procuratorate.

Based on information previously disclosed by the police, the three underage perpetrators plotted the crime before committing it and tried to hide the body afterwards. By holding the three juveniles criminally responsible, the procuratorate addressed public concerns, while setting an important example for similar cases in the future.

In recent years, there have been frequent cases of juvenile delinquency, necessitating Amendment XI, which lowered the age of criminal culpability from the earlier 14 years to 12 years. Strengthening the prevention and control of juvenile delinquency demonstrates the determination to protect minors from harm.

It should be noted that criminal culpability and punishment alone cannot completely solve the problem of juvenile delinquency. In dealing with juvenile delinquency, it’s necessary to not only adhere to a zero-tolerance attitude, but also improve the graded intervention mechanism for juvenile offenders and increase educational correction efforts.

Not just in the Handan middle school student’s murder case, but also in many other similar ones, lax education and supervision by families or guardians may have played a role.