Teen sentenced to life in prison for classmate’s death

A Chinese court has sentenced two teenagers for the death of their classmate in March.

The teenagers from Hebei province, known only as Zhang and Li, were 13 years old when they plotted to kill their classmate Wang and split his money between them.

After attacking Wang with a shovel, they buried him in an abandoned greenhouse, the court said in a statement on Monday, adding that “their methods were brutal and extremely difficult”.

The youths were sentenced to life imprisonment and 12 years in prison respectively.

The sentence draws a line under the charge of cruelty, which caused great public outrage when it was first reported.

Wang was harassed for a long time at school by three of his classmates, his family and lawyer said in March, when a court on Monday found that he met Zhang and Li.

A third teenager who was also at the scene, identified only as Ma, was not charged, according to the court.

On March 3, Zhang brought Wang to the greenhouse on a scooter, while Li rode another scooter with Ma. On the way, Li tells Ma about Zhang’s plan to kill Wang.

When the four arrived at the greenhouse, Zhang began to beat Wang with a shovel and Li helped him. After seeing the attack, Ma left the greenhouse.

Zhang and Li then buried the victim, and the three left the scene.

Later, Zhang used Wang’s phone to send money from his WeChat account to Lee and himself. He also took out the SIM card from Wang’s phone and ordered Ma to destroy it.

Zhang, Li and Ma were approached by the police, and eventually Ma led them to the crime scene.

The court said that Zhang was the main culprit as he organized the conspiracy and forced others to join in, and his actions led to Wang’s death.

Li, meanwhile, was a con man who took part in the operation and shared the money with Zhang, the court said.

Authorities said Ma will be corrected through education – a method often used for juvenile delinquents.

The sentence of the youth on Monday was praised by social media users who have been waiting to hear about the terrible punishment. But others say that the punishment was less.

“The one who only got 12 years will be a teenager when he is released. I hope he won’t retaliate when he leaves,” reads a popular comment on Weibo, referring to recent mass killings that have caused panic across the country.

Others mourned Wang’s death. “As a parent, I feel sorry for this child,” said one Weibo user. “It’s very painful.”