Assault on juvenile by police supervisor sparks debate

After being removed from his position as a supervising law enforcement officer after assaulting a juvenile, the deputy director of the Zhangyi township police station in Yuanzhou district of Guyuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region, has become the subject of heightened public discussion, Yangtze Evening News reported.

On Friday afternoon, the man, surnamed Wang led staff members to a school after they received a phone call from a resident reporting that his child had been beaten by a fellow student.

Two third-grade students reported that they had been beaten by a sixth-grader surnamed Ma.

Ma had left the scene, so Wang and an auxiliary police officer went to search. When they found the boy, they kicked and beat him before taking him back to his teacher's office to wait for his parents.

Following an investigation of the incident, the city's public security bureau removed Wang from his position on Sunday.

According to a report by Yangtze Evening News, many netizens expressed the opinion that Ma had made a mistake, but Wang — a law enforcement officer — should not have beaten him. Others argued that because there is no legal punishment prescribed for juvenile bullies, Wang had upheld justice, and so his dismissal was too harsh.

According to the report, some netizens sent silk banners to the police station in support of Wang.

A staff member at a local advertising company told the news outlet that they had received orders for banners from about a dozen netizens across the country, and that the banners would be delivered to the police station the next day.

Commenting on the incident, criminal defense lawyer Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, said that Wang had violated the law, which prohibits police officers from beating others while on duty.

"The administrative penalty is in accordance with the law and regulations," Fu said, adding that the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency stipulates that public security departments, in conjunction with education and judicial departments, can take appropriate corrective education measures in the case of minors who exhibit seriously bad behavior.

"For students who repeatedly misbehave or engage in serious bullying, schools and education departments have the authority to send the child to specialized schools. If a crime is committed, criminal responsibility should be pursued according to the law," Fu said.