Children between the ages of 12 and 14 will now be able to be prosecuted for “intentional killing or intentional injury leading to death, or for causing severe disability using extremely cruel means,” the AP writes. For all other crimes, children under the age of 14 can be sent to correctional facilities. Juveniles between the ages of 14 and 16 can be prosecuted for intentional acts of violence, such as murder or rape. For most offenses, the criminal liability limit is 16 years.
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Until now, children in China have been prosecuted for serious crimes since the age of 14, and minors received mild punishments that outraged the public. In one case, a thirteen-year-old boy who killed a ten-year-old girl in October 2019 was sentenced to three months in a juvenile detention center. It was this act that led to the amendment of the law.
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In the Czech Republic, this limit is 15 years, in many European countries it is 14 years, in most Britain the age of criminal responsibility is even ten years.
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