BEIJING — A man from China has received a death sentence for a brutal knife attack that injured a Japanese mother and her child and resulted in the death of a Chinese bus attendant who attempted to intervene. This incident occurred near Shanghai last June, as reported by officials from the Japanese government.
During the court proceedings in Suzhou, it was revealed that 52-year-old Zhou Jiasheng carried out the stabbings amid personal financial issues and a desire to end his life, according to statements made by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi during a press briefing in Tokyo on Thursday.
This attack was one of two frightening incidents involving Japanese children in China that triggered alarm over rising anti-Japanese feelings within the country. In light of these events, Japan urged China to take measures to ensure the safety of its nationals residing there.
Hayashi noted that the details of the court’s judgment had not been disclosed immediately and made no specific mention of Japan or its citizens. He emphasized the heinous nature of the crime, stating that the act, which resulted in the loss of life and injury to innocent individuals, particularly a child, was utterly unacceptable and called for serious consideration of the ruling.
Representatives from the Japanese Consulate in Shanghai attended the court’s sentencing session to witness the proceedings. The incident took place at a bus stop designated for a Japanese school in Suzhou on June 24. The bus attendant, identified as Hu Youping, succumbed to her injuries several days following the attack, while the Japanese mother and child thankfully sustained only minor injuries.
In a related case, a 10-year-old Japanese boy lost his life in September when he was stabbed near his school located in the southern city of Shenzhen.
The Chinese government characterized other stabbing incidents involving foreign nationals last year as isolated events. In June, a separate attack was reported in which a Chinese man assaulted four university instructors from the U.S. at a public park in Jilin, injuring a local bystander who attempted to intervene. Furthermore, a knife assault at a hospital in southwestern China in May resulted in two fatalities and left 21 others wounded.
