A video circulating online shows three girls, aged 13 to 15, bullying a 14-year-old girl in an abandoned building in Jiangyou for nearly four hours. In the video, the attackers verbally abuse, beat, and force the victim, identified by her surname Lai, to kneel. This resulted in multiple bruises on her head and knees.
At one point, the victim reportedly said her father would call the police, to which the attackers replied, “Do you think we’re afraid of you?… We’ve been in [jail] more than a dozen times and got out in less than 20 minutes.”
The video was filmed on July 22nd, and the victim’s parents reported the incident the same day. However, it wasn’t until August 4th that the Jiangyou Public Security Bureau released an official statement, claiming the victim only sustained “minor injuries.”
The bureau stated that two of the three attackers had received administrative penalties and were sent to a special school for re-education, in accordance with the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency. The third girl and other bystanders received a reprimand, and their guardians were ordered to provide better supervision.
Local residents, however, were dissatisfied with the police response. Concerns grew that the lenient punishment would encourage similar incidents. The families of the three assailants had also not apologized. Protests began on August 4th, with over one thousand people demonstrating in the streets.
According to local merchants, the protests continued until late at night when police ultimately used force to clear the crowd. Multiple online videos show citizens gathering outside the Jiangyou city government building to express their demands, only to be arrested by police. A BBC interview with a local resident stated that police used batons and stun guns to control the crowd, leading to a bloody scene.
Police have reportedly asked local residents not to discuss the incident and have denied using violent force to disperse the crowd. Authorities stated that the protesters were blocking traffic and that those who refused to comply with police warnings were removed from the scene.
