Fan Weiqiu, 62, carried out the deadly assault in retaliation for his dissatisfaction with his divorce settlement, the court revealed on Friday. The court condemned his actions, stating that his motive was “extremely despicable,” and the crime's nature was “particularly cruel” and resulted in severe social harm.
The attack, which occurred in late November, is part of a troubling pattern of mass violence in China. In response, Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered local governments to take preventive measures against such incidents, emphasizing the need to address personal disputes that could lead to aggression, such as marital and inheritance conflicts.
This sentence follows a similar one handed down earlier this week in a separate case in Hunan province, where a driver who injured 30 people by driving into a crowd of students and parents was given a suspended death sentence with a two-year reprieve, which is often commuted to life imprisonment.