A Chinese man who attacked a Japanese mother and child with a knife and killed a Chinese woman who tried to protect them has been sentenced to death, according to the Japanese government.
A Chinese court said Zhou Jiasheng, 52, carried out the attack on June 24 after losing his living will, following the loss of his job and subsequent debts.
The attack took place outside a Japanese school in China’s Suzhou province – and was one of three attacks on foreigners in China last year.
It comes as Chinese authorities have carried out several high-profile executions in recent days.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters at a news conference that the court ruled the attack was an “intentional killing” and that the sentence was granted because of the “impact “socially significant” that the crime had caused.
However, the court made no mention of Japan in the ruling, according to Hayashi, who added that officials from the Japanese consulate in Shanghai attended the sentencing.
Hayashi added that the crime, which killed and injured “innocent people”, including a child, was “absolutely unforgivable”.
He also paid tribute to Hu Youping, the Chinese bus agent who was killed by Zhou while trying to protect a Japanese mother and her child.
The attack, with another stabbing that killed a Japanese schoolgirl In the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen last year, it caused concern among the local Japanese community.
Earlier Thursday, Mao Ning, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, briefly commented in a daily news conference that the case was “in the legal process,” adding that China “as always, would act to protect security foreign nationals in China.
China has faced an increase in public violence, with many attackers reportedly spurred by a desire to “revenge against society” – where perpetrators act on personal grievances by attacking foreigners.
Last year, 19 attacks against pedestrians or strangers were a sharp increase compared to the figures of previous years.
Monday, a man who killed at least 35 people in car attack The country’s deadliest attack in a decade is believed to have been carried out.
Last month, a man who killed eight people in a stabbing spree at his university was sentenced to death.
Also, in December, a man who injured 30 people by driving into a crowd of children and parents outside an elementary school He was given a suspended death sentence.
