China prosecutes about 60,000 suspects for harming minors

BEIJING - About 60,000 suspects were prosecuted for harming minors from January 2017 to April 2018, including several high-profile abuse cases, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) Tuesday.

Since last year a total of 231 suspects have been prosecuted for offences in kindergartens, said Zheng Xinjian, a senior prosecutor in charge of underage cases, at a press conference.

Zheng confirmed that the suspect of a high-profile child abuse case in Beijing, who was accused of using sewing needles to "discipline" children at RYB Education New World Kindergarten, was being prosecuted.

The suspects of child abuse cases at a day care center under contract to a leading travel agency in Shanghai and a nursery in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing are also being taken to the court, according to Zheng.

Chinese prosecuting agencies have stepped up efforts against offenses involving minors.

Since 2015, all cases involving underage victims have been handled by specialized departments, Zheng said.