China: 13-year-oldai in Dalian, Liaoning Province abused and murdered a 10-year-old girl but only had to go to a reformatory, causing outrage among the public.

Under Chinese law, children under 14 years of age are not criminally responsible. However, the murder in Dalian City, Liaoning Province, northeastern China shocked public opinion in the country, sparking a debate over the age of criminal responsibility and the possibility of revising relevant laws. to the criminal responsibility of the minor.

On October 19, He's parents, a 10-year-old girl, reported her daughter would not return home after school. Chinese media reported that Cai had lured the victim to his home, sexually assaulted him, and then stabbed him to death. The He family discovered the daughter's body the next day at a ditch near the house.

Cai lived in the same neighborhood with the victim and attended her brother's school, but the two did not know each other.

Cai later admitted to murdering the little girl He. On October 24, the Dalian City Police Department confirmed that Cai would not be prosecuted and sentenced to imprisonment but was only sent to a reformatory for three years because he was only 13 years old.

Chinese criminal law requires minors 14-16 to be tried only if they commit serious crimes such as murder, rape and robbery, while those aged 13 and under are not criminally responsible. China also has a Minors Protection Law, which protects the identities of juvenile suspects during the trial.

This is in line with the United Nations recommendation that the minimum age for criminal liability should be 14 and children under 16 should not be detained. However, the victim's parents hired a lawyer and wanted Cai to face the worst punishment for murder.

The statement of Dalian Public Security Bureau also sparked a wave of controversy in Chinese media. The Paper said Cai had "an unusually tall body compared to a 13-year-old boy", while social networking user Weibo argued over the age of prosecuted minors.

Many people called for severe punishment from Cai, even referring to the death penalty, calling him "animal". Others claim that Cai's parents are responsible.

Social outrage and calls for amendments to the law have become hotter when reports of criminal gangs are attempting to recruit minors to take advantage of the age gap. Criminal liability in Chinese law.

In March, a 13-year-old boy in Jiangsu province was arrested for stabbing his mother to death after an argument, but the suspect was not criminally responsible. Similarly, in December 2018, a 12-year-old boy in Hunan province admitted stabbing his mother to death after being punished by his mother but not prosecuted and returned to school just days after the incident.

In the Dalian case, local police said the three-year reform measure with Cai was "the most severe punishment in the current justice system for minors".

The Xinhua news agency said the incident led parliamentarians to discuss the possibility of revising minors' protection laws and lowering the age of criminal liability. The draft revised law was reviewed at a meeting of the Standing Committee of China's National Assembly on October 26.