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A Chinese court has handed a suspended death sentence to a man who injured over a dozen children by ramming his car into a crowd<\/a> outside a primary school in central China.<\/p>\n Thirty people, including 18 schoolchildren, were hurt in the incident in Changde City on 19 November. It was the third attack on a crowd in China in the span of one week.<\/p>\n The suspended death sentence for Huang Wen could be commuted to life imprisonment if he does not commit another crime in the next two years.<\/p>\n The ruling however sparked criticism online, with some social media users accusing the court of being lenient on Huang.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In a statement, the court said Huang carried out the attack to vent his anger after dealing with investment losses and family conflict.<\/p>\n The sentencing marked the first time the exact number of injuries from the Changde City incident was known. Many posts about it have been scrubbed from social media.<\/p>\n Just days before, a man who was reportedly unhappy over his divorce settlement, ploughed his car into a crowd in Zhuhai<\/a>, killing 35 people.<\/p>\n Some observers have described such attacks as acts of vengeance against society.<\/a> Others say these incidents underscore some people’s pent-up frustrations<\/a> over China’s economy.<\/p>\n “Why does he deserve a suspension?” one Weibo user said of Huang.<\/p>\n “Such vicious cases need to be dealt with seriously and swiftly for deterrence,” another commented.<\/p>\n Videos that circulated immediately after the attack showed children lying on the ground, others fleeing in panic, and an angry pedestrian banging on Huang’s car with a snow shovel while he was still inside.<\/p>\n The court said Huang’s actions at that time reflected the “extremely severe criminal circumstances” he was in.<\/p>\n As part of his sentence, Huang was also stripped of political rights for life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n