A lesson for anti-bullying law

Three Chinese students attending a high school in southern California will serve time behind bars for kidnapping and assaulting a female classmate in a high-profile bullying case.

Zhai Yunyao, Yang Yuhan and Zhang Xinlei reached a plea deal with prosecutors on Jan 5. The three 19-year-olds pleaded no contest to criminal charges of kidnapping and assault. Zhai, the prime culprit, faces 13 years in prison, Yang 10 years and Zhang 6 years, according to a report in The Los Angeles Times. And they will be deported to China after serving their sentences.

The bullying case, which came to light in March 2014, has caused quite a stir in China. The case, the media speculated, involved a dispute over a love affair and the target of the three students, who sought the help of some other teenagers, was an 18-year-old female classmate surnamed Liu. The victim testified that she was taken to a park, stripped, kicked, slapped and burned with cigarettes. Her ordeal, she said, lasted more than five hours.