Court orders payment to murdered girl's parents

The parents of a 13-year-old boy who killed a 10-year-old neighbor girl last year were fined 1.29 million yuan ($186,000) for compensation on Monday in Dalian, Liaoning province.

After the Dalian Shahekou District People's Court handed down its decision on Monday, the mother of the victim told Knews that she does not want to spend much time and energy on civil litigation and will continue to push for criminal punishment of the killer.

In addition to the compensation awarded to the girl's parents, the court ordered the boy's parents to publish an apology to the girl's family within 10 days in provincial-level print media in Liaoning province.

The mother's lawyer said that he personally found the civil award acceptable and does not recommend an appeal. But there are concerns about enforcement, he said.

The boy, surnamed Cai, who was 13 at the time, killed the girl and hid her body in the bushes near his home on Oct 20, 2019.

The Dalian Public Security Bureau released a statement four days later that Cai had admitted to killing the girl. Since Cai was under 14 years old, he was not subject to criminal responsibility under the law. Instead, he was detained for reeducation, the police said.