China: Handan Detains 3 teens in Connection with the Death of a Classmate

Reports from local media indicate that three teenage boys in the northern Chinese city of Handan have been detained by authorities in connection with the tragic death of their classmate.

The case of the 13-year-old boy, identified only by his surname Wang, has ignited strong emotions and intense discussions on the issue of juvenile crime.

Authorities discovered his remains buried in an abandoned vegetable garden.

According to his father, the boy experienced bullying at school.

The authorities are currently conducting an investigation into the incident, according to state-run Global Times.

All three teenagers who were detained are under the age of 14. According to Chinese law, individuals who are between 12 and 14 years old may be subject to criminal prosecution, but only if authorized by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the highest public prosecutor in the country.

The victim and his classmates are children known as “left-behind children”, a term used to describe kids in China who live with their grandparents in rural areas while their parents work in the cities.

The case has sparked a wave of sorrow on social media, with an overwhelming number of posts on Weibo and Douyin during the weekend.

“The entire nation is closely following this case, expressing their desire for a fair investigation and a satisfactory resolution for the victim’s family,” one user commented on a post by the victim’s father, which received an overwhelming response of 50,000 likes.

Many commenters expressed a strong desire for the suspects to face severe consequences, regardless of their age.

According to a video posted on Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, the victim’s father reported that his son went missing in the afternoon of 10 March. According to the local government, it is believed that the boy passed away on the same day.

“At around 3 p.m. on 10 March, my child was still full of energy and actively moving.” The father reported that all of his money was transferred from his phone at 4:10 p.m. and his phone was subsequently turned off.

According to the father, before his passing, the young boy had transferred 191 yuan ($17; £13) to one of his three classmates, as reported by The Beijing News.

According to a Weibo post by the family’s lawyer, Zang Fanqing, the individual had been subjected to bullying by three classmates for an extended period of time.

During questioning, the three individuals eventually guided the authorities to the location of the boy’s body, despite initially denying any knowledge of its whereabouts.

Authorities are currently conducting an investigation into the motive behind the killing, as reported by The Beijing News.