Calls for tough punishment for school abuse

After recent horrific case, some believe harsh crackdown on bullying is due

The campus bullying case involving a 10-year-old boy in Datong, Shanxi province, has sparked heated discussion about possible harsher punishment for minors who commit very vile offenses and has led to calls for concerted efforts to crack down on campus violence.

Local authorities said on Tuesday that the two bullies — both aged 9 and classmates of the victim — have been ordered to apologize, and to receive psychological counseling and behavioral correction. Five administrators at the boarding school, including the principal, have been dismissed.

Li Hongbo, a professor from the China University of Political Science and Law's Institute of Rule of Law, said that the two minors carried out physical and sexual assaults that deeply shocked the public.