Beijing [China], December 30 (ANI): A court in northern China handed prison terms to two teenagers for murdering their classmate with a shovel, in a case that triggered a national debate over the treatment of juvenile offenders, as per Al Jazeera.

Three suspects, all aged 13 at the time of the murder, were accused in April of bullying a 13-year-old classmate surnamed Wang over a long period before ultimately killing him in an abandoned greenhouse in March, Al Jazeera reported.

The killers reportedly attacked Wang with a shovel before burying his body. The case drew public attention to how the law deals with juveniles accused of serious crimes, as per Al Jazeera.

Two of the suspects surnamed Zhang and Li, were sentenced to life and 12 years in jail respectively for intentional homicide by a court in the city of Handan in the province of Hebei, China's CCTV said on Monday. No motive was given.

The court found the methods of the killing "were particularly cruel, and the circumstances were particularly heinous," it added.

A third suspect surnamed Ma escaped with a sentence of "special correctional education", in line with the law, Al Jazeera reported.

They were detained the day after the body of the victim was found on March 10, buried in a shallow pit in an abandoned greenhouse on the city's outskirts, state media said.

The court said Zhang bore principal responsibility for killing Wang with a shovel and initially devised the murder plan, while Li, his main accomplice, joined in the killing and subsequent burial.

Ma followed the pair to the site of the murder and witnessed the killing, but did not participate.

In 2021, China lowered its age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 for "special cases" such as inflicting death by "extremely cruel means."The Hebei case is thought to be one of the first to apply the lower age limit.

At the time of the crime, state media said all four were the offspring of rural migrant workers who spent most of the year working in large cities, leaving grandparents and other relatives to care for their children.

According to 2020 census data, there are nearly 67 million so-called "left-behind" children in China. Academic research indicates that these children are more vulnerable to mental health issues, bullying, and involvement in criminal activities. (ANI)