China executes 2 for deadly 'revenge on society' attacks
China has carried out the executions of two men involved in deadly attacks that claimed dozens of lives in November, raising concerns about a rise in "revenge on society crimes," according to state media reports on Monday, reports AP.
Fan Weiqu, 62, was executed after ramming his car into a crowd outside a sports stadium in Zhuhai, southern China, killing at least 35 people. This attack was the deadliest in the country in over ten years. Police stated that Fan was angered by his divorce settlement.
In a separate incident, 21-year-old Xu Jiajin killed eight people and injured 17 others in a stabbing spree at his vocational school in Wuxi, eastern China. Authorities revealed that Xu, frustrated with his failed examinations and unsatisfactory internship pay, carried out the attack. He was also executed on Monday, as reported by CCTV.
The killings prompted Chinese President Xi Jinping to call for local governments to implement measures to prevent such "revenge on society crimes."
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The death sentences for both men were handed down by the intermediate people's courts in Zhuhai and Wuxi in December and later approved by the Supreme People's Court.
China is believed to carry out more executions annually than the rest of the world combined, though the exact figures remain a state secret. While executions were traditionally carried out by gunshot, lethal injections have been increasingly used in recent years.
