An endless period!, A suspended death sentence, this couple is underage | Case | Couple
On June 15th, the Supreme People's Court released the top ten typical cases of domestic violence in China in 2023, including a case where a biological mother and her cohabiting boyfriend tortured their underage daughter to death under the pretext of discipline, which sparked anger among netizens.
case
Birth mother and cohabiting boyfriend physically punished a 10-year-old girl to death
After the defendant Li divorced, he placed his daughter Gui in foster care with his aunt for a long time; In December 2019, Li brought the victim Gui back home and lived with his cohabiting boyfriend, the defendant Yang. Li and Yang often use physical abuse to discipline Gui.
At noon on February 6, 2020, Mr. Li and Mr. Yang asked Mr. Gui to kneel in the living room and balcony with only one pair of underpants until noon on February 8, 2020, and continued to punish Mr. Gui by punching and kicking, beating with belts and skipping ropes, and pouring cold water on his body. During this period, Mr. Gui only ate a bowl of noodles and a Mantou, and slept on the floor of the living room for about 6 hours.
At around 14:00 on February 8th, Gui experienced physical weakness and weakened breathing. Li and Yang rescued him and called 120 emergency hotline. The doctor arrived at the scene and Gui had no vital signs. After identification, Gui was found to have suffered extensive soft tissue damage and died from traumatic shock caused by multiple blunt impacts on multiple parts of the body by others.
judgment
The crime of intentional injury is committed, and both are the main perpetrators
The court ruled that Li and Yang intentionally injured another person's body, resulting in one person's death, and their actions constituted the crime of intentional injury. Li and Yang both actively committed acts in the joint intentional injury crime and were the main perpetrators. Sentenced Li to death with a two-year reprieve and deprived of political rights for life; Yang was sentenced to life imprisonment and deprived of political rights for life.
unscramble
Causing serious consequences under the pretext of disciplining children, no lenient punishment will be given
The Supreme People's Court analyzed the circumstances and verdict of this case:
If domestic violence is committed against underage children under the pretext of discipline, resulting in serious consequences, no lenient punishment shall be imposed. Li and Yang, as mothers of a 10-year-old girl and individuals with joint guardianship obligations, were aware that the victim was still in the early stages of growth and was vulnerable to harm to their life and health. They should have taken careful care of and raised the child, but in the harsh winter season, they made the victim wear only one pair of underwear and, in the cold balcony and living room, resort to methods such as punching, kicking, rope beating, water splashing, freezing and hunger deprivation, and subjected the victim to 48 hours of continuous torture, causing extensive soft tissue damage to multiple parts of the victim's body, resulting in traumatic shock and death. Looking at the entire case, disciplining the child is only the cause of the incident. When the goal cannot be achieved, simple physical punishment quickly turns into violent venting.
The court found that Li and Yang had obvious criminal intent, cruel criminal methods, and extremely serious consequences, and did not impose lenient punishment on them. The verdict declares that the judiciary will never tolerate domestic violence and demonstrates the protection of human life, health, and dignity, especially for minors.
If continuous domestic violence causes serious injury or death to the victim on the spot, the crime of intentional injury shall be convicted and punished. According to Article 17 of the Opinions on Handling Domestic Violence Crimes in accordance with the Law issued by the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Justice in 2015, although domestic violence exhibits the characteristics of regularity, persistence, and recurrence, it has the intention of allowing the harm to occur and causing the victim's death on the spot, and should be convicted and punished for the crime of intentional injury.
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