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The Telegraph
China lowers age of criminal responsibility to 12 after notorious child crimes
China has lowered the age of criminal responsibility for murder and some other serious crimes from 14 to 12 years after some high-profile killings of children. The change means that children between the ages of 12 and 14 who commit crimes such as intentional homicide or intentional injury resulting in death or serious disability will now be held criminally liable. Before, they were exempt from criminal punishment, but could be ordered to receive correctional education. Currently, the age of criminal responsibility in China is 16 years old, but adolescents between the ages of 14 and 16 can be charged and punished as criminals for serious crimes including intentional homicide, rape and robbery. The question of whether to lower the age of criminal responsibility came to the fore after a case last year in which a 13-year-old boy confessed to police that he had killed a 10-year-old girl. State media reported that the girl did not return home from a painting class on a Sunday afternoon. The girl’s father said the boy tricked her into entering his home, sexually assaulted her, stabbed her to death and then dumped her body on the side of a road. After the murder in Dalian city, northeast China, the boy was sent to a juvenile rehabilitation center for three years. There was public outrage at what was perceived as his lenient treatment. In another case, a 13-year-old boy was allegedly beaten to death in August in Shaanxi province by six minors, including one under the age of 14, according to reports last month. The youngest has been placed under the supervision of a guardian, while the other five have been arrested on suspicion of intentional injuries resulting in death. Authorities have previously announced an increase in the number of juvenile cases being handled by prosecutors. Last year, there was a 5 percent year-over-year increase in the number of juvenile prosecutions, with the most common crimes being theft, robbery, intentional injury, scuffle, riot and rape, according to a white paper published by the Supreme People’s Prosecutor’s Office in June.
