On April 8, 2025, a 15-year-old boy in Shenzhen fatally stabbed a female classmate over unfounded suspicions and trivial daily matters. The case was sentenced in a first-instance trial on the 28th, with the perpetrator Zhong Moumou sentenced to life imprisonment. This marks the first case in China where a juvenile offender has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
According to a report by Jimu News, on the day of the incident, Mr. Pan picked up his daughter Pan Yuyou, her classmate Chen, and Zhong Moumou from school, as usual, and then left early for work. Since the three families lived in the same residential complex, Mr. Pan and Chen's parents alternated in escorting the three children to and from school since they started the first year of junior high. According to court documents, Pan Yuyou walked alone into her building, while Zhong Moumou, carrying a folding knife he had purchased online, entered via another entrance, approached Yuyou, and loudly confronted and threatened her.
After stabbing Pan Yuyou several times and attempting to flee, Zhong Moumou heard her cry for help, returned, knelt on her, and stabbed her multiple times before leaving. Residential complex staff found her and immediately called the police. Despite rescue efforts, Pan Yuyou was pronounced dead. Her mother, Ms. Zeng, recalled that at around 7pm she and her husband were preparing dinner when they suddenly heard someone shout, “Someone’s fainted.” Thinking her daughter had fainted due to low blood sugar, she sent her husband down first while she searched for medicine at home. To her shock and devastation, when she went downstairs, she saw her daughter lying in a pool of blood.
An autopsy report showed that Pan Yuyou had suffered 26 stab wounds. The cause of death was “shock from hemorrhage caused by sharp punctures and incisions to the chest, back, subclavian area, resulting in a penetrating wound to the heart, rupture of both lungs, and rupture of the subclavian vein.” After escaping home, Zhong Moumou told his family that he was injured because he had acted bravely to help someone. His family then brought him to Shenzhen Longhua District Central Hospital for treatment, and it was there that police arrested him.
Believed the Victim Looked Down on Him
The indictment cited that Zhong Moumou harbored resentment against the victim due to minor everyday disputes and baseless suspicion, leading to his murderous intent. Ms. Zeng recalled that in court, Zhong Moumou claimed he experienced school bullying and alleged that Yuyou looked down on him and his grandmother because of their poor family background and low grades. Ms. Zeng refuted these claims to reporters, saying their families had little contact and had never visited each other's homes or interacted much.
Furthermore, during the first-instance trial, the prosecutor presented testimony and evidence showing that before the incident, Zhong Moumou had searched online for topics such as criminal liability for minors who commit murder and sentencing in the Handan case. He also admitted in court that he hated the school and his classmates. Ms. Zeng said she could not understand why Zhong Moumou targeted her daughter and demanded the death penalty for him. When the prosecutor cited the demand for the death sentence, Zhong Moumou knelt in court, saying life in the detention center was hard and that he wanted to return to school. His father also knelt to plead for forgiveness from the victim's family, but Ms. Zeng firmly stated she would never forgive.
The Shenzhen People's Procuratorate concluded that Zhong Moumou intentionally killed his classmate, an act constituting the crime of intentional homicide under Article 232 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. The criminal facts were clear and evidence was solid and sufficient, warranting prosecution. However, considering the need to protect and understand the psychological immaturity of juveniles, the death penalty was deemed inapplicable. Ultimately, Zhong Moumou was sentenced to life imprisonment and lifelong deprivation of political rights.