A Chinese court sentenced a teenage boy to life in prison on Monday for the murder of his classmate, concluding a case that has sparked a national debate on the treatment of juvenile offenders.

The case, which involved three suspects all under the age of 14 at the time of the crime, came to light in April when they were accused of bullying a 13-year-old classmate, surnamed Wang, over an extended period before ultimately killing him in an abandoned greenhouse.

The disturbing details of the murder, in which the assailants reportedly attacked Wang with a shovel before burying his body, have drawn significant public attention to how the law addresses juvenile offenders involved in serious crimes.

One of the boys, surnamed Zhang, was found guilty of intentional homicide and sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Hebei province. Another boy, surnamed Li, was given 12 years in prison, while the third boy, surnamed Ma, who was determined not to have directly harmed the victim, was sentenced to correctional education.

In 2021, China lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 for “special cases” involving particularly severe crimes, such as killings committed with “extremely cruel means.” This case was widely regarded as one of the first instances where the lower age threshold was applied.

In its verdict, the prosecution stated that the defendants, “being over the age of 12 but under the age of 14 at the time of the crime,” were subject to criminal responsibility under Chinese law. The prosecution also emphasized that the manner in which the victim was killed was “particularly cruel” and the circumstances of the crime “particularly vile.”

Under Chinese law, murder is punishable by either imprisonment or the death penalty.