Chinese toddler dies after parking row attack

BEIJING, China – A two-year-old Chinese girl who was thrown to the ground by a man in his 40s during a row with her mother over parking has died, state media reported Saturday, July 27.

The toddler died on Thursday night in hospital in Beijing where she was receiving treatment for the injuries suffered during the incident on Tuesday, the China Daily reported. The death has also been reported by the Beijing News.

A witness told the Beijing Times earlier in the week that the man, identified only by his surname Han, wanted to park by a bus stop in Beijing.

But the toddler’s mother, who was on foot, would not move out of his way as she was checking on her daughter at the time.

Han got out of his car and hit the woman before taking the toddler out of her pram, holding her up and throwing her “forcefully” to the ground, said the witness, a street stall owner surnamed Zhou.

“The baby made no noises after being dropped, not even a cry of pain,” the newspaper quoted Zhou as saying.

Another man came out of the car and also beat the mother before the pair drove away, it added.

Police found Han, who was released from prison this year after serving a sentence for theft, in a hot spring bathhouse and detained him, said the Legal Daily.

“Han was put in criminal detention on suspicion of intentional homicide on Thursday afternoon,” Xinhua said, citing the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

Han could face the death penalty if he is charged with murder, Chinese reports said.

Another man who also has a criminal record has surrendered to police, Xinhua reported.

The incident sparked outrage on Chinese social media as weibo users vilified the attackers and expressed grief over the toddler’s fate.

“When you come back in another life, dear baby, be sure to be born in another country,” one user wrote.

Another weibo user called the attackers “perverse animals” and a third called for the death penalty as punishment.

“For this kind of murderer with an evil nature, the death penalty should be carried out immediately,” the post said.

Social tensions have been mounting in China in recent years against the backdrop of a widening income gap and abuses of public power. – Rappler.com