Man on trial accused of knife killing of 2 children

A MAN accused of killing two children with a knife near an international primary school in June this year stood trial for murder at Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate Court yesterday.

Huang Yichuan has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and had limited criminal capacity. He came up with the idea of killing children after running into problems with work, according to prosecutors.

Huang arrived in Shanghai on June 6 and bought a knife from a supermarket six days later. After passing through the area several times, he decided to target pupils from Shanghai World Foreign Language Primary School on Pubei Road, the Pudong New Area.

At about 8am on June 28, Huang took a plastic bag with the knife to the school gate, looking for targets. About 11:30am, when school was over, Huang followed three 4thgrade students, surnamed Tan, Fei and Jin.

When he was about 130 meters away from the school, he attacked the three. Tan and Fei died from their injuries, while Jin and Tan’s mother were slightly injured. Huang was caught at the scene by passersby and security guards.

Prosecutors charged Huang with murder despite his limited criminal capacity. They argued he should be given a severe punishment due to his “evil intent and thorough planning.” The verdict will be announced at a later date.