A woman stands near flowers placed outside the “Zhuhai People’s Fitness Plaza”, where a man deliberately rammed his car into people exercising at the sports center, killing some and injuring others in Zhuhai in southern China’s Guangdong province on Nov. 12, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
Chinese authorities on Monday (January 20, 2025) executed a 62-year-old man who drove his car into people exercising outside a stadium last year, killing 35 people and injuring over 40, according to a media report.
Fan Weiqiu, who was stated to be angry over the division of the property after his divorce, carried out the attack a day before the Chinese military held its prestigious air show in Zhuhai City.
He was executed less than a month after a court sentenced him to death.
The Zhuhai Intermediate People’s Court held a public trial of Fan for the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means in accordance with the law, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The court termed his motive “extremely vile” and “the methods” used by him “particularly cruel”.
China has been grappling with a spate of public violence of late. The incidents are routinely blamed on disgruntled elements by security officials.
In July this year, eight people were killed and five others injured after a vehicle crashed into pedestrians in Changsha City, the capital of central China’s Hunan province.
Published – January 20, 2025 03:12 pm IST
