A man who killed 35 people in a car attack in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai last month has been sentenced to death.
Newslodge recalls that on November 11, Fan Weiqiu, 62, deliberately ran over people exercising outside a sports complex in his small SUV, the worst attack in China since 2014.
Police at the time said he was detained at the scene with self-inflicted knife wounds and fell into a coma.
State broadcaster CCTV reported that his case was publicly tried on Friday and that the verdict was reached the same day.
According to the court, the defendant's motives were extremely vile, the nature of the crime extremely heinous, the methods particularly cruel and the consequences particularly severe, representing significant harm to society.
State media reported that in front of some of the victims' families, officials and members of the public, Fan pleaded guilty.
The report said the court found that Fan had decided to vent his anger over a broken marriage, personal frustrations and dissatisfaction with the division of assets after the divorce.
This year, China has seen a series of mass casualty incidents – from stabbings to car attacks – that challenge its reputation for good public security.
Some analysts have linked the incidents to growing anger and despair over the country's slowing economy and a sense that society is becoming more stratified.