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A man who killed dozens by driving his car into people exercising outside a stadium in southern China has been sentenced to death.<\/p>\n
Fan Weiqiu was accused of “endangering public safety”, according to a court statement. <\/p>\n
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured in the 11 November attack in Zhuhai, thought to be the deadliest on Chinese soil for a decade.<\/p>\n
According to the court, the 62-year-old decided to drive his car into the crowds on a running track at high speed because he was “dissatisfied” with how his property had been divided following his divorce.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The court described his motive as “extremely vile” and “the methods” as “particularly cruel”. One witness told Caixin news magazine he had driven “in a loop” leaving victims “hurt in all areas of the running track” – a popular location for people to exercise.<\/p>\n
Fan – who was initially reported to be in a coma, having sustained self-inflicted knife wounds – admitted his guilt in front of victims’ families and members of the public, Chinese media reported.<\/p>\n
The attack was one of 19 targeting strangers to take place across China this year – including two within a week of the Zhuhai attack.<\/p>\n
Not all have involved vehicles. In February, a mass stabbing and firearms attack in Shandong in February left at least 21 people dead. That incident was heavily censored by Chinese authorities.<\/p>\n
In total, at least 63 people have been killed and 166 injured in these attacks. This is a sharp increase on previous years – 16 killed and 40 injured in 2023, for instance.<\/p>\n
Some have suggested the increase in random attacks could point towards a general increase in frustration and anger as the economy slows and uncertainty over the future grows.<\/p>\n
“These are symptoms of a society with a lot of pent-up grievances,” Lynette Ong, professor of Chinese politics at the University of Toronto in Canada, told AFP news agency in November.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n