China executes a man for ramming a car, killing dozens

China has executed a man convicted of killing at least 35 people in a car attack in November, in what is believed to be the country’s deadliest attack in a decade.

Van Wicko, 62, injured dozens of others when he was wounded He drove his car to people exercising Outside the stadium in the southern city of Zhuhai.

State media said a second man was executed for a separate attack days later. Xu Jiajin, 21, killed eight people in A A stabbing attack at his university In the city of Wuxi, east of the country.

Authorities said Fan was motivated by “resentment” over how his property was divided after his divorce, while Xu carried out his attack after “failing to obtain his degree due to poor exam results.”

Van was arrested at the scene on November 11, where police said he was found with self-inflicted injuries.

In December, he was convicted of “endangering public safety,” and the Zhuhai Intermediate People’s Court described his motives as “extremely despicable” and the methods used “particularly cruel.”

His execution on Monday comes less than a month after the court sentenced him to death.

In Shaw’s case, police said he confessed to the crime “without hesitation” on November 16. He was sentenced to death on 17 December, with the court hearing that the circumstances of his crime were “extremely bad” and “extremely serious”.

Human rights groups believe China is the world’s leading executioner, killing thousands of people every year. The state does not publish details about its use of the death penalty, so reliable figures are not available.

China is facing a wave of public violence, with many attackers believed to be motivated by a desire to… “Revenge against society” – Where perpetrators target strangers because of their personal grievances.

The number of such attacks across China will reach 19 in 2024.

Within days of the Zhuhai and Wuxi attacks, A man drove his car into a crowd of children and parents outside a primary school in Changde, injuring 30 people.

Authorities said the man, identified as Huang Wen, wanted to vent his anger after dealing with investment losses and family conflict.

It was Huang He was sentenced to a suspended death sentence last month, which could be commuted to life imprisonment if he does not commit another crime within the next two years.

Analysts told the BBC earlier The series of mass killings has raised questions about how people in China deal with various sources of stress, such as the country’s sluggish economy.

“Tensions appear to be rising, and there does not seem to be any way they will abate in the near future,” says George Magnus, an economist at the China Center at Oxford University.