BEIJING - The driver who rammed his car into a crowd in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, killing 35 people, has been sentenced to death, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.
The attack on Nov 11 was one of the deadliest in contemporary Chinese history.
Fan Weiqiu, discontented with how property was divided in his divorce, “deliberately drove into the crowd to vent his anger”, Xinhua said, citing findings of the court.
Fan’s vehicle hit people who were exercising at a local sports centre, causing serious casualties.
He was detained at the scene with self-inflicted knife wounds and fell into a coma, police said at the time.
His case was publicly tried on Friday, the state broadcaster CCTV reported, with the ruling reached on the same day.
Fan, 62, admitted to his guilt, Xinhua said.
A spate of violent attacks has recently raised questions about public safety in China, where citizens have long been proud of streets safe from violence.
On Monday, a court gave a death sentence, suspended for two years, to a man who ploughed his car into crowds at a primary school in Changde, in the central province of Hunan.
The driver, identified as Huang Wen, injured 30 people, including 18 primary school students, and caused major property damage in the Nov 19 incident, according to reports.
Huang took his rage out on the public because of investment losses and family conflicts and was arrested on site, according to the ruling cited by CCTV.
