Death penalty for Chinese man who deliberately drove into crowd

A Chinese man has been sentenced to death for driving into passers-by in the city of Zhuhai last month. Thirty-five people were killed and dozens more were injured.

The attack was near a stadium where many people were playing sports at the time. The 62-year-old perpetrator was reportedly furious about his divorce.

The attack happened on the eve of an important air show, which is why there were many security measures in place in the city. China initially censored all reporting on the incident, meaning the massacre only became public knowledge a day later.

It is speculative why China initially kept the attack quiet. Authorities may have wanted to know whether the perpetrator had a political motive or feared that the incident would lead to unrest or copycat behavior.

Similar incidents

A week after the Zhuhai death row, another driver in the southern province of Hunan drove into a group of primary school students out of frustration over business losses. That perpetrator was given a provisional death sentence last week, which effectively amounts to life in prison.

Such incidents in which perpetrators take out their anger on innocent bystanders are common in China, but rarely do they result in as many victims as in Zhuhai.