Leniency allowed in assault on classmate by 16-year-old vocational student

A prosecutor in Beijing's Dongcheng district decided not to charge a 16-year-old boy suspected of intentionally injuring a classmate on July 28 after he realized how serious his behavior was and showed remorse.

The boy, from a vocational school in the capital, got in an argument on the messaging app WeChat in November 2014 and later fought with his classmate, aided by others, according to Liu Chaoyang, the prosecutor.

The beating resulted in the classmate's nose and other facial bones being broken, Liu said, adding that it was a crime of intentional injury.