When killers are not criminals. COLOURS OF CHINA. Monday, 04 Nov 2019 By Beh Yuen Hui

TEN-year-old Qiqi had just finished her art class. Her home in Dalian city of northeastern Liaoning province was a 15-minute walk away. She was alone that day because her mother was busy with chores and could not pick her up.

On the way, she bumped into a neighbour, a 13-year-old boy surnamed Cai. He asked for a favour and she followed him to his apartment.

In his room, he hugged her and tried to rape her. She fought back with all her strength.

Meanwhile, the mother was waiting anxiously for Qiqi.

“She finished her class at 3pm but at 3.50pm, she had still not reached home. I called the centre and was told that she had left, so I lodged a police report,” the woman later told the local media.

At 7pm that day, Qiqi’s body was found in a plastic bag dumped among some bushes in the neighbourhood. She was stabbed seven times.

Three days later, the police picked up Cai, who confessed to killing the girl. But he escaped criminal charges because in China, 14 is the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

The law also states that minors between 14 and 16 can only be held responsible for serious offences such as homicide, rape and robbery, and the death sentence is for those above 18.

The police said Cai is spending three years of “education detention” at a rehabilitation centre but they have refused to reveal more details. Three years is maximum time for detention of minors in China.

The case was a hot topic on social media for days, generating a few hundred million views and sparking debates. Most people considered Cai’s punishment to be too lenient.

There was also an outcry following news stories alleging that the teenager is psychopathic.

It was reported that in his class’s chat group, Cai posted pictures taken from the window of his apartment and told his classmates of the discovery of Qiqi’s body.

He later asked them for advice, saying that he had cut his hand and had thrown the bloodstained tissue paper in the bushes.

He wrote messages such as “I’m in trouble”, “I’m in the list of suspects”, “Why suspect a child?” and “Do not text me”.

It was said that Cai has been very calm and showed no remorse after his arrest.

Several female residents in the same neighbourhood have accused Cai of stalking and harassing them.

“He stalked me on three occasions since August,” claimed one of them, adding that Cai told her she was beautiful and asked her to not be afraid of him. There was one time I met a man at the police station who complained Cai harassed and hugged his daughter,” she said.

Another woman, who is middle-aged, accused Cai of following her to her unit.

“He walked away after realising that I had noticed him,” she added.

A third woman posted a video online in which she alleged that the teenager had masturbated on a bus while he was beside her, a local newspaper reported.

Cai is not the only youngster to have escaped criminal charges for murder in the past 12 months.

Last March, a 13-year-old in Jiangsu province killed his mother when she tried to discipline him.

In Hunan province, two persons aged 13 and 12 admitted to killing their parents in separate incidents.

Chinese legislators are looking into amending the law to impose stricter rehabilitation or even criminal punishment for juveniles, reported China Daily.

They debated a draft revision to the Law on the Protection of Minors and the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency at the 14th session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee last weekend.

One of the amendments discussed was to lower the criminal responsibility age.

Zhou Min, a member of the committee, pointed out that the revision to the law must urgently provide solutions to reduce the number of violent cases.

“Although the age of criminal responsibility should be changed by amending the Criminal Law, instead of by revising it, as we’re discussing, I think that lowering the age should be considered,” Zhou said. She noted that some children had publicly threatened to kill others, knowing that they would escape jail terms because they are below 14.

Another committee member, Fu Yuhang, said such threats of violence by youngsters had horrified many people, including herself.

“So, I’ve suggested that the legislature lower the age of criminal responsibility to 12,” she added.

Read more at https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/columnists/colours-of-china/2019/11/04/when-killers-are-not-criminals#9YmOUoUcrJqIUmd6.99