1,180 arrested for school bullying, violence

BEIJING -- Chinese prosecuting departments in 2016 approved the arrest of 1,180 people involved in school bullying and violence, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said Wednesday.

Prosecutors nationwide also filed charges against 2,449 offenders last year, including 678 adults suspected of having instigated, organized, or coerced minors into committing crimes.

The SPP said 688 juvenile first-time offenders or those with minor offenses were exempted from prosecution in order to help them learn and return to society.

Prosecuting organs have also worked closely with education, civil affairs and other departments to deliver relief to victims of campus violence.

The SPP said 562 young people received legal aid, and 512 underwent psychological counselling in 2016.

There have been frequent media reports on school bullying in recent years. In April 2016, a video went viral showing a schoolgirl being slapped more than 30 times by a group of older girls. Police detained some of the perpetrators.

In June 2014, another online video showed several teenagers in eastern Zhejiang Province burning a first-grade boy with cigarettes.