On the evening of September 7, 2023, in Le'an County, Fuzhou, Jiangxi, a 7 - year - old girl was skating in the square with her classmates when a strange man suddenly pushed her to the ground and repeatedly hacked her with a kitchen knife, causing her to die on the spot. After the attack, the man self - harmed, then called 120 and the police himself.
The girl's family later learned that the man, who was also taking his own child to the square at that time, suffered from schizophrenia. He had been hospitalized twice and had stopped taking his medicine on his own before the incident. When asked why he suddenly attacked, he said he was confused at that time. On the morning of October 25, 2024, the case of the man suspected of intentional homicide was heard in the Le'an County People's Court.
On March 17, it was learned from the girl's family that the man was sentenced to death with a two - year reprieve and restricted from commuting the sentence in the first - instance trial. The girl's family has filed an appeal.
Previously reported, the Fuzhou People's Procuratorate accused that around 5 p.m. on September 7, 2023, the man was waiting for his son to finish school at the school gate. During that time, he heard a woman say, "It's so cold that I'm freezing to death, and so hot that I'm dying." This made him have the impulse to cut her with a knife. But since he couldn't catch up with her, he picked up his son and went home.
At around 8 p.m. that night, the man rode an electric bike with his daughter to the square. When waiting at a red light, he heard a woman scold him as a "stupid". So he put down his daughter and tried to attack the woman, but still failed to catch up. Then he picked up his daughter and continued to the square where the incident happened.
After parking the electric bike, the man anticipated that someone would scold him with words like "die" or "stupid". So he put a kitchen knife, which he had placed on his electric bike half a month ago, in his left waistband and covered it with his clothes, carrying it with him.
When he was walking towards the center of the square, he suddenly heard a little girl say something like "stupid, beat to death". He turned around and saw the girl who was skating, then pushed her down and continuously hacked at the back of her neck with the kitchen knife until he saw a large amount of blood, then he stopped.
The man then threw the kitchen knife on the ground, picked it up again to cut his own neck but failed to commit suicide. He then called 110 and 120 respectively and waited at the scene for the police to arrest him.
After appraisal, the man was diagnosed with schizophrenia and was evaluated as having limited criminal responsibility. The procuratorate believes that he should be investigated for criminal responsibility for intentional homicide.
The first - instance judgment shows that the man's actions have constituted the crime of intentional homicide. He killed an innocent young girl in public in an extremely cruel way, and the consequences were extremely serious. In principle, he should be sentenced to death. However, considering that he was in the onset period of mental illness when committing the crime, was a person with limited criminal responsibility, and had the circumstances of surrender and showed remorse, he was not immediately executed.
On March 17, the father of the victim said that they had filed an appeal, hoping that the man would be sentenced to death. "We also know it's unlikely. After filing the appeal, the court hopes that we can have a civil mediation before the second - instance trial, but we haven't been able to contact the other side."
A lawyer analyzed that from a legal - technical perspective, while the court recognized that the man's crime of intentional homicide was established, it fully considered the cruelty and social harm of his criminal behavior. At the same time, it also took into account that he was in a mental illness episode when committing the crime, had limited criminal responsibility, and had the circumstance of surrender.
The judgment of death with a two - year reprieve and deprivation of political rights for life conforms to the principle of suiting punishment to crime and responsibility.
In addition, according to relevant provisions of China's civil law, if a person with limited or no capacity for civil conduct is involved in an incidental civil lawsuit in a criminal case, their guardian shall, in accordance with the law, bear civil liability for the damage caused by their criminal behavior. The guardian is the person legally liable for compensation in the incidental civil lawsuit and should be listed as the defendant in the incidental civil lawsuit.
The man is a person with limited capacity for civil conduct, and his guardian should bear civil liability for the damage caused by his criminal behavior. Of course, according to relevant civil law provisions, if the man himself has property, the compensation should be paid from his own property first, and the insufficient part shall be borne by his guardian.
In this case, the man's criminal behavior caused economic losses to the plaintiff in the incidental civil lawsuit, including funeral expenses of 47,371 yuan, and expenses and lost - work costs for handling the funeral affairs, which were estimated at 5,000 yuan, totaling 52,371 yuan. The man's father has already paid 50,000 yuan.
According to Article 192 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, when making a judgment on an incidental civil lawsuit, the amount of compensation that the defendant should pay shall be determined based on the material losses caused by the criminal behavior and in combination with the specific circumstances of the case.
If the criminal behavior causes personal injury to the victim, reasonable expenses such as medical expenses, nursing fees, and transportation fees for treatment and rehabilitation, as well as lost income due to missed work, shall be compensated. If the victim is disabled, disability - related assistive device fees shall also be compensated; if the victim dies, funeral expenses and other fees shall also be compensated.
The second paragraph of this article does not limit the incidental civil lawsuit in a criminal case to only compensating funeral expenses. Instead, the two paragraphs should be comprehensively considered, and the specific content of compensation for funeral expenses and other fees should be determined based on the material losses caused by the criminal behavior and in combination with the specific circumstances of the case. Finally, it is recommended to expand the scope of criminal incidental civil compensation at the legislative level and include death compensation to fully protect the rights and interests of the victim's family and ensure that the people can feel fairness and justice in every judicial case.
