Criminal penalty for delinquents in question

A 13-YEAR-OLD BOY in Southwest China's Sichuan province severely burnt the face of a 24-year-old woman by throwing gasoline on her and setting it alight, while trying to rob her of her cellphone. The woman was severely hurt, yet the boy did not receive any criminal penalty because of his age. It is time to lower the minimum age for criminal responsibility, comments Southern Metropolis Daily:

What happened in Sichuan is not an isolated incident. One month ago, a 13-year-old boy in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region killed three people, but the "punishment" he received was only rectification for three years in a center for juvenile delinquents. Last October, three pupils killed a female teacher, yet they received the same light penalty, as they all were under 14 when committing the crime, which is the threshold for criminal responsibility.

The Law on Protection of Minors, which says that those under the age of 14 will not face criminal charges even if they commit a serious crime, has loopholes. Some experts defend it by saying that minors are not so cruel and should be given the chance of being re-educated, but when youngsters commit crimes such as murder, This argument no longer stands.