Compiled from: Beijing News, Sohu, Weibo.
 
Case review
 
[2] Case One
Recently, a news story about a "6-year-old girl nearly killed by abuse from her mother and mother's boyfriend" sparked heated discussion among netizens.
 
According to media reports: On October 25, in Fushun, Liaoning. A 6-year-old girl was brutally abused by her mother and her mother's boyfriend for three months, including having hot water poured on her head, teeth pulled with pliers, mouth burned with a lighter, legs stabbed with steel needles, and being fed cat food... She suffered dozens of fractures all over her body and was issued a critical illness notice after being taken to the hospital. Currently, the mother and her boyfriend have been criminally detained, and the trial will proceed after the child's injury assessment.

 
 

[6] Case Two
Yesterday, the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court of Shaanxi Province publicly pronounced the verdict in the intentional homicide case of Lin Jiancai, sentencing the defendant Lin Jiancai to death for intentional homicide, with deprivation of political rights for life.
 
After trial, it was established that in November 2018, defendant Lin Jiancai cohabited with victim Xu (female). Later, Xu brought her son Tangyuan (deceased, aged two years and four months) to live with Lin Jiancai. During this period, Lin Jiancai frequently physically punished and beat Tangyuan. Around 10 p.m. on June 24, 2019, Lin Jiancai returned to his temporary residence after drinking, used a cutting board and spatula to strike the heads of Xu and Tangyuan, then stepped on, kicked, and violently threw Tangyuan, drowned him in a washbasin, and poured liquor into his mouth, ultimately causing the death of victim Tangyuan and minor injury level two to Xu.
 
The Xi'an Intermediate People's Court held that defendant Lin Jiancai, merely due to trivial domestic matters, used cruel methods to kill victim Tangyuan while intoxicated. The nature of his crime was particularly heinous, and the consequences were especially severe. Therefore, he was sentenced to death for intentional homicide, with deprivation of political rights for life.
 
Relevant legal provisions
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
第二百六十条 虐待罪
Whoever maltreats a family member, if the circumstances are vile, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years, criminal detention, or public surveillance. Whoever commits the crime in the preceding paragraph, causing serious injury or death to the victim, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than seven years. The crime in the first paragraph shall be handled only upon complaint, except where the victim is unable to complain or is unable to complain due to coercion or intimidation.
 
[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.
 
"Law on the Protection of Minors"
Article 10
Parents or other guardians shall create a good and harmonious family environment, fulfill their duties of guardianship and support obligations towards minors in accordance with the law. Domestic violence against minors is prohibited, as is maltreatment or abandonment of minors, infanticide and other acts of harming infants, and discrimination against female minors or minors with disabilities.

 
 

 
[1] The author's perspective
According to Article 260 bis of the Criminal Law and Article 10 of the Law on the Protection of Minors, the mother of the abused girl has already committed the crime of maltreating a person under guardianship or care, and also violated China's Law on the Protection of Minors. Having violated multiple laws concerning child abuse, the mother is highly likely to be severely punished under the most heinous circumstances.
 
According to Article 234 of the Criminal Law mentioned above, although the mother's boyfriend is not the guardian of the abused girl, his series of violent acts led to the girl's critical condition, which constitutes the crime of intentional injury. Therefore, this man could face a maximum sentence of death.
 
In recent years, cases of parents abusing their children are not uncommon, from a man in Shaan Province throwing and killing a young child to parents forcing a 3-year-old to binge-eat for money, all of which are heartbreaking. Since they have given birth to a child, they should fulfill their obligations to raise and protect, not harm, nor harm together with others. Even a vicious tiger does not eat its own cubs; these people not only violate criminal law but are also unworthy of being human.
 
Currently, in the environment of family, school, and society, many aspects are lacking. Sometimes the harshest punishment may not substantially solve the problem; what we need to do is to curb such crimes and harm from the root. Whether it is social organizations or the public, more attention should be paid to education on child protection, to how adults value protecting children, and to strengthening public education, thereby taking on more responsibility.