Chinese man sentenced to death for killing 35 people after driving into a crowd

[December 28, 2024]  By KEN MORITSUGU

BEIJING (AP) — A court in China has sentenced a man to death for killing 35 people last month by driving into a crowd, in an attack that raised national concern about mass killings.

Fan Weiqiu was venting his anger because he was unhappy with his divorce settlement, the court in the southern city of Zhuhai said in handing down the sentence on Friday. The victims were exercising at a sports center. Fan pleaded guilty to endangering public safety by dangerous means, a court statement said.

Fan's “criminal motive was extremely despicable, the nature of the crime was extremely vile, the means of the crime were particularly cruel, and the consequences of the crime were particularly severe, resulting in great social harm,” the court said.

The attack was one of several in China in late October and November and spurred Chinese leader Xi Jinping to order local governments to take steps to prevent future “extreme cases.” His order prompted vows from local leaders to examine personal disputes that could trigger aggression, from marital troubles to disagreements over inheritance.

Fan's sentence was the second one handed down in quick succession just weeks after the recent attacks, much faster than court cases normally take in China.

A court earlier this week gave a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve to a driver who injured 30 people when he drove into elementary school students and parents in Hunan province. Such sentences are usually commuted to life in prison.

The court in the city of Changde said the driver was taking out his frustrations after losing money he had invested.

A man lights a candle near flowers placed outside the "Zhuhai People's Fitness Plaza", where a man deliberately rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, killing some and injuring others in Zhuhai in southern China's Guangdong province, Nov. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Such attacks on crowds, with a vehicle or a knife, are not new in China, but the spate this fall and the high number of victims in the Zhuhai attack renewed the focus on the issue. The attackers are often taking out their anger and frustration over a personal matter in what are known as “revenge on society” crimes.

Chinese authorities keep a tight lid on any reports about the attacks, censoring videos and eyewitness accounts posted on social media and releasing only basic information, often many hours afterward.

The death toll in Zhuhai wasn't announced until 24 hours after the attack. In addition to the 35 people killed, another 43 were injured, police said. The driver, Fan, who was 62 years old, was found in his vehicle trying to stab himself with a knife, a police statement said.

Police set up barricades the day after the attack and barred people from entering the sports complex. Members of the public left bouquets of flowers by an adjacent square instead.

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Associated Press researcher Yu Bing contributed to this report.

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