A two-year-old girl died after being thrown out of a 17th-floor window by her teenage neighbour in China.
Local authorities reported that the suspect, a 13-year-old with the surname Tan, has intellectual disabilities.
Tan has been taken into police custody and investigations are ongoing.
According to The Paper, the incident occurred in Jiujiang, a city in China’s Jiangxi province, on the evening of 26 May.
The victim’s mother recounted that her daughter, Qin, was playing with her grandmother on the first floor of a building complex when a girl in a white dress suddenly appeared.
The girl, later identified as Tan, picked up Qin and carried her to the 17th floor.
Source: The Paper
Tan then threw the two-year-old girl out of a window in the corridor, causing her to fall to her death.
Police arrested the teen shortly after the incident.
On Thursday (30 May), the Public Security Bureau of Duchang County issued a statement detailing the tragic event.
Given that Tan is a minor with alleged intellectual disabilities, Zhao Liangshan, a senior partner at Shaanxi Hengda Law Firm, explained that Qin’s family would have to assess how to pursue accountability for the child’s death.
“The police would need to commission a forensic evaluation to determine if Tan was unable to recognise or control her actions at the time of the incident, or if she was partially unable to do so due to a mental disorder,” he said, as reported by 8world News.
Chinese criminal law states that if a person with intellectual disabilities causes harm while unable to recognise or control their behaviour, they are not held criminally responsible if confirmed by legal authorities.
However, their family or guardian should supervise them and provide medical treatment as necessary.
In cases where a person with intellectual disabilities can recognise or control their behaviour, they may bear criminal responsibility, but with the possibility of a reduced punishment.
Also read: 3-year-old boy in China dies after mother throws him from 22nd floor of building
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Featured image adapted from The Paper.
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