BEIJING (MCT) — A Chinese court on Saturday sentenced to death a man who attacked children and teachers at a kindergarten last month, state media reported, following a series of similar attacks.
Xu Yuyuan was found guilty of intentional homicide by the Taixing Intermediate Court after attacking students and teachers with a knife at a kindergarten in eastern China's Taixing City, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The agency said that 29 children and three teachers were injured in the April 29 attack, but did not mention any fatalities. However, there were unconfirmed reports on websites that several children died from their injuries.
Xu's sentencing came days after seven children died and 20 others were injured in an attack at a kindergarten in Shanxi Province.
It was the fifth in a spate of assaults, and last week the government acknowledged that increasing security at schools is not the only solution.
"Apart from adopting forceful security measures, we also need to focus on addressing some deep-rooted causes behind these problems, including handling some social contradictions, resolving disputes and strengthening the role of grassroot mediation," Premier Wen Jiabao was quoted as saying on Thursday by Hong Kong broadcaster, Phoenix TV.
Xu Yuyuan's death sentence follows the execution of Zheng Minsheng on April 28. Zheng was convicted of stabbing to death eight children at a primary school in the south-eastern province of Fujian in March.