A Chinese court on Wednesday sentenced a man who rammed his car into a crowd outside a primary school in central China, injuring more than a dozen children, to a suspended death sentence.
Thirty people, including 18 schoolchildren, were injured in the attack in Changde City on 19 November. The incident was the third such attack on a crowd in China within one week.
He might receive life imprisonment if he does not commit any other crime within two years. However, the ruling attracted criticism on social media sites, where most people accused the court of leniency towards Huang.
According to a statement made by the Court, Huang executed the attack to alleviate his anger as he lost an investment and had disagreements with his family. The sentencing marked the first time the exact number of injuries from the Changde City incident was known. Many posts about it have been scrubbed from social media.
Just days before, a man who was reportedly unhappy over his divorce settlement ploughed his car into a crowd in Zhuhai, killing 35 people. Some observers have even described such attacks as vengeance against society. Others say that incidents like these underscore pent-up frustrations by some people on China’s economy.
“What does he deserve a suspension?” one Weibo user asked concerning Huang. Such vicious cases need to be handled seriously and swiftly for deterrence,” another commented.
Videos that surfaced within hours of the attack included children lying on the ground, others running away in panic, and an irate pedestrian pounding on Huang’s car with a snow shovel while he was still inside. The court said Huang’s actions at that time reflected the “extremely severe criminal circumstances” he was in.
