Beijing — China executed two men who carried out deadly attacks that left dozens dead in November, raising concerns about a surge in so-called “revenge against societal crimes,” reports said Monday state media.
Fan Weiqu, 62, who authorities said drove his car into a crowd in front of a sports stadium in the southern city of Zhuhai, killing at least 35 people and seriously injuring at least 43 others, was executed on Monday. The attack was the country’s deadliest in more than a decade, authorities said, and took place on the eve of the country’s first aviation exhibition organized by the People’s Liberation Army which takes place annually in the city. Police said Fan was upset about his divorce settlement.
Tingshu Wang / REUTERS
Also in November, Xu Jiajin, 21, killed eight people and injured 17 others in a knife attack at his vocational school in the eastern city of Wuxi. Police said Wu failed his exams and could not graduate, and was unhappy with his salary for an internship. He was also executed on Monday, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
The two men’s death sentences were handed down by the intermediate people’s courts in Zhuhai and Wuxi cities respectively in December and approved by the Supreme People’s Court, according to state media.
The killings prompted Chinese President Xi Jinping to urge local governments to take measures to prevent such attacks, known as “revenge for societal crimes.”
China has seen a number of attacks in which suspects appear to target people at random, including schoolchildren. In October, a 50-year-old man was arrested after allegedly using a knife to attack children at a Beijing school. Five people were injured. In September, three people were killed in a stabbing attack at a Shanghai supermarket.
China is believed to execute more prisoners each year than the rest of the world combined, although the precise total is classified as a state secret. Executions are traditionally carried out by shooting, although lethal injections have also been introduced in recent years.