A man who killed 35 people in a car attack in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai last month was sentenced to death on Friday, according to reports from state media.
On November 11, 62-year-old Fan Weiqiu deliberately drove his small SUV into a crowd of people exercising outside a sports complex, an incident described as the worst attack in China since 2014.
He was apprehended at the scene with self-inflicted knife wounds and later fell into a coma, according to police.
Fan’s case was publicly heard on Friday, with the court delivering its verdict the same day, as reported by state broadcaster CCTV.
The court characterised the defendant’s motives as “extremely vile,” stating that the crime was “egregious in nature, cruel in method, and severe in consequence,” inflicting significant harm on society.
During the trial, attended by some victims’ families, officials, and members of the public, Fan pleaded guilty.
The court concluded that Fan conducted the attack to “vent his anger” over “a broken marriage, personal frustrations, and dissatisfaction with the division of property after divorce.”
This year, China has experienced a series of mass casualty incidents, including stabbings and car attacks, raising concerns about public security. Some analysts attribute these disturbing occurrences to growing discontent linked to the country’s slowing economy and increasing social inequality.
AFP