The driver who killed 35 people in China has been sentenced to death Crime News

A court in southern China’s Zhuhai sentenced Fan Weiqiu, 62, saying his ‘criminal intention is very bad’.

A Chinese court has convicted a man of killing 35 people last month by driving a car into a crowd, in an incident that has sparked nationwide concern over mass killings.

Fan Weiqiu was expressing his anger because he was not happy with his divorce, said the court in the southern city of Zhuhai when it handed down the sentence on Friday.

The victims were exercising at the sports center. The fan pleaded guilty to endangering public safety by dangerous means, the court statement said.

“Fan’s criminal intention was very heinous, the nature of the crime was very bad, the methods of the crime were cruel, and the consequences of the crime were very bad, causing great harm to the public”, said the court.

The November 11 attack was one of the deadliest in modern Chinese history.

It was among a series of violent attacks that have recently raised questions about public safety in China, where citizens have long prided themselves on streets safe from violence.

The attack prompted Chinese leader Xi Jinping to order local governments to take measures to prevent future “massive crimes”.

His order prompted local leaders to examine their potential conflicts, from marital problems to disagreements over inheritance.

Some commentators have linked these incidents to growing anger and despair due to the country’s economic stagnation and a sense that the society is becoming more prosperous.

A court earlier this week handed down a two-year suspended death sentence to a driver who injured 30 people when he plowed into elementary school students and parents in Hunan province. Such sentences are often commuted to life imprisonment.

The Changde city court said the driver was venting his anger after losing his investment.

Chinese authorities are tightly suppressing all reports about the attacks, blocking videos and witness accounts posted on social media and releasing only basic information, often hours later.

The death toll in Zhuhai was not announced until 24 hours after the attack. Apart from the 35 dead, 43 were injured, the police said.

The driver, 62, Fan, was found in his car trying to stab himself with a knife, said a police statement.

Police closed the barriers the day after the attack and prevented people from entering the stadium. Members of the public left flowers around the square which is closer than that.