Death penalty in China –
The perpetrator of the car attack that killed 35 people was executed
Last November, the man drove his SUV into a group exercising in Zhuhai. He wanted to “express his anger” for “a broken marriage.”
A man reflects in front of the scene of last November’s tragedy in Zhuhai.
KEYSTONE/AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File
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China carried out the execution this Monday of the author ofa car ramming attack that killed 35 people in the city of Zhuhai last November, the worst attack in China in ten years, according to state media.
A court in Zhuhai, a township located in the southern province of Guangzhou, “executed Fan Weiqiu in accordance with the execution order issued by the Supreme People’s Court,” state television CCTV announced.
“Cruel” act, “abject” reasons
On November 11, the man deliberately drove his SUV into people exercising outside a sports complex in Zhuhai, killing 35 people and injuring 43 others, according to state media.
The court sentenced the 62-year-old man at the end of December to capital punishment for an act carried out “in a particularly cruel manner” and for “extremely despicable” reasons, in the words of the court then reported by official media.
Fan Weiqiu allegedly “decided to express his anger” due to “a broken marriage, personal frustrations, and his dissatisfaction with the division of property after the divorce,” according to the same source.
-The economy in question?
China has seen several deadly incidents this year committed by isolated individuals, which some experts link to frustration caused by the slowdown of the Chinese economy. In each case, the authorities quickly censored online publications and dismantled the tribute signs left near the scene of the tragedy.
At the end of December, a man who rushed into a crowd in front of a school was given a suspended death sentence.
Thousands executed per year
The court also found that the convict had acted to “evacuate personal emotions”, particularly after “financial losses following investments” and “family conflicts”.
Beijing keeps its official figures regarding the death penalty under the seal of state secrecy. But human rights groups, including Amnesty International, estimate that thousands of people are executed each year in the country.
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