What kind of madness would drive someone to beat their own son to death

[2] Compiled from: The Paper, Red Star News
 
[2] On August 20, a video of a man throwing a toddler went viral online, sparking heated discussion with its mere 7-second duration.

 

Case review
[3] The video shows a man lifting a two-to-three-year-old child twice and forcefully throwing him onto a sofa, causing the child to roll onto the floor and cry loudly. The setting suggests the incident occurred in a residence, with someone nearby recording the act.
 
[4] It is reported that the child in the video was taken to Baoji People's Hospital for treatment on August 20. A staff member from the hospital's publicity department stated, "A child was indeed brought to the hospital this morning and is currently receiving treatment." The staff member added that the hospital had been instructed not to accept interviews.
 
According to an insider who spoke on condition of anonymity: "After admission, the child first received cardiopulmonary resuscitation and was diagnosed with closed craniocerebral injury, extensive cerebral edema, secondary brainstem injury, etc. He is currently receiving further treatment in the intensive care unit."
 
At around 6 p.m. on the 20th, the Jintai Branch of Baoji City Court issued a police bulletin stating that at around 10 p.m. on August 19, a report was received of an assault case in Jinlingwan Community, and the injured male child was receiving treatment at the hospital.
 
After investigation, the suspect Liu, while drunk, argued with his girlfriend Feng over the custody of their child (two years and six months old), and threw the child onto the sofa, causing injury.
 
The suspect Liu has been criminally detained, and the case is under investigation.
 
Unfortunately, as confirmed by multiple sources, the child died despite rescue efforts.

 

 
Relevant legal provisions
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 232: Crime of intentional homicide
Whoever intentionally commits homicide shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years; if the circumstances are relatively minor, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years.
 
[4] Article 234: Intentional Infliction of Injury
[5] Anyone who intentionally inflicts injury on another person's body shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance. If the crime in the preceding paragraph causes serious injury to another person, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years; if it causes death or causes serious injury resulting in severe disability through particularly cruel means, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment, or death. Where this Law provides otherwise, such provisions shall apply.
 
Article 260(a) Crime of maltreating persons under guardianship or care
[1] Anyone who has the duty to guard or care for minors, the elderly, the sick, or the disabled and abuses the person under their guardianship or care, if the circumstances are egregious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention.
 
If a unit commits the crime in the preceding paragraph, the unit shall be fined, and the directly responsible supervisors and other directly responsible personnel shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
 
[2] If an act under the first paragraph also constitutes another crime, it shall be convicted and punished according to the provision with the heavier penalty.
 
 
[1] The author's perspective
First, if Liu is the guardian of the child who was thrown, then Liu has violated Article 260-1 of the Criminal Law, which is the crime of maltreating a person under guardianship or care. It is noteworthy that according to this article, "If the conduct in the first paragraph also constitutes another crime, it shall be convicted and punished according to the provision with the heavier penalty." This indicates that if Liu's actions constitute a more serious crime with a heavier penalty, the heavier penalty shall apply.
 
Second, it is clear that Liu's act of throwing the child twice within seven seconds at least constitutes the crime of intentional injury. According to the latest news, the child has died, so Liu has committed intentional injury resulting in death. Under Article 234 of the Criminal Law, Liu should be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment, or death.
 
Therefore, between the crime of maltreating a person under guardianship or care and intentional injury resulting in death, Liu's conduct should be convicted as the crime of intentional injury.
 
Next, if Liu is not the guardian of the child (since the child is born to Liu and his girlfriend and may be an illegitimate child, Liu may not necessarily be the guardian), then Liu has also committed intentional injury resulting in death. But does Liu constitute intentional homicide?
 
The author believes that the reason it may constitute intentional homicide is that the intent in intentional homicide refers to knowing that one's actions will result in the deprivation of another's life, yet hoping for or allowing that outcome to occur. The child who was thrown was only two years and six months old, with incomplete physical development and very fragile bones. After the child was taken to the hospital, the diagnosis was "closed craniocerebral injury, extensive cerebral edema, secondary brainstem injury, etc.," showing that Liu's throwing behavior was extremely brutal for a two-year-old child. Liu's series of actions—lifting the child high above his head, throwing him down hard, lifting him again, and throwing him down hard once more—are beyond reasonable limits even for an adult, let alone a two-year-old child.
 
As a person with normal cognition, Liu knew that such violent behavior would threaten the child's life, yet he still allowed this outcome to occur. This is like an executioner wielding a blade—how is it different from a murderer who disembowels someone? In the end, the child died.
 
[1] The child is gone. In what should have been a carefree childhood, he endured violence beyond our imagination, and the hand that inflicted it was his own biological father. Upon seeing this news, I couldn't help but sigh—perhaps the child's departure was his liberation.