Fan Weiqu drove his car into a crowd, killing 35 people, and stabbed 21-year-old Xu Jiajin with a knife, killing 8 people and injuring 17 others.
China has executed two men for carrying out deadly attacks in November that killed dozens of people, state media reported, raising concerns about a surge in so-called “revenge crimes”.
Fan Weiqu, 62, who hit his car On Monday, he plowed into a crowd outside a stadium in the southern city of Zhuhai, killing at least 35 people.
According to authorities, it was the country’s worst attack in more than a decade. Police said Fan was upset about the divorce settlement.
Also in November, 21-year-old Xu Jiajin killed 8 people and injured 17 others in a car accident. stabbing attack He attended a vocational school in the eastern city of Wuxi.
Police said Wu failed his exams, was unable to graduate and was unhappy with his internship salary. He was also executed on Monday, state broadcaster China Central Television reported.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged local governments to take measures to prevent such attacks, which are “retaliation for social crimes.”
According to state media reports, the Zhuhai and Wuxi Intermediate People’s Courts sentenced two men to death in December, with approval from the Supreme People’s Court.
Violent crime is rarer in China than in many Western countries, but it has increased in the country in recent years. The stabbings and car attacks have challenged the ruling Communist Party’s reputation for strict public safety and crime prevention.
They also bring an element of shock, leading some to question perceived social ills, such as frustration with a slowing economy, high unemployment and reduced social mobility.
China classifies death penalty statistics as a state secret, but some rights groups believe the country executes thousands of people every year. Executions have traditionally been carried out by firing squad, although lethal injection has also been introduced in recent years.