Court ramps up efforts to resolve cases involving minors

While efficiently fighting crime involving juveniles last year, a Beijing court also made greater efforts to resolve lawsuits concerning school campus safety to better protect children.

Data released by the Beijing Pinggu District People's Court on Thursday showed that it has ruled on more than 30 criminal cases related to people under age 18 in the past three years as well as over 900 civil disputes regarding juveniles.

Minor offenders were those who were mainly charged with crimes of theft, affray and disturbing public order, the court said, adding that some incidents were caused by arguments or bullying.

In one case, for example, a 17-year-old student surnamed Wang was given a prison term because he was found to have frequently bullied one of his classmates, a 16-year-old surnamed Li, by assaulting him outside school, according to the court.

Due to the bullying, Li was too afraid to talk to others. He was later diagnosed with stress disorder, the court said.

To help Wang realize his crimes, the court educated him while learning about his background and his relationship with family members. Considering the seriousness of his acts, the court decided to criminally punish him, but sealed his record.

In another case, a kindergarten was ordered by the court to compensate a child who was injured while playing sports on campus after finding the school had not taken sufficient protective measures or educated students properly about safety.

The court said that kindergartners are too young to protect themselves, so teachers need to shoulder more responsibilities to shield them from harm and improve campus safety inspections.

It added that it will strictly implement the amended Minor Protection Law to provide better overall protection to children.