A Chinese student was sentenced to 15 years in Switzerland for a 2024 Zurich knife attack that injured three five-year-old boys. He was also banned from returning for 15 years.
Tags:A Chinese student has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in Switzerland for carrying out a knife attack that injured three young children in Zurich in 2024.
The Zurich District Court convicted the 25-year-old man of multiple counts of attempted murder over the October 1, 2024 attack in the Oerlikon area of the city.
The victims were three boys, all aged five at the time.
According to Swiss authorities, the children were walking with a daycare worker when the man suddenly attacked them with a knife.
One child initially suffered serious injuries, while the other two were reported to have sustained injuries of moderate severity. All three survived.
The attack was stopped after the daycare worker and another man intervened and restrained the attacker until police arrived.
Authorities said the suspect was arrested at the scene without further resistance.
Prosecutors Said the Attack Was Planned
Evidence presented during the case suggested the stabbing was not spontaneous.
Investigators said the defendant had carried out online searches in the weeks before the attack relating to knife crimes, criminal penalties, school schedules and locations where children could be found.
He had also reportedly purchased knives online.
According to evidence discussed during the trial, the man searched for information about human anatomy shortly before the attack and practised using a knife on pieces of meat.
Prosecutors argued that these actions showed significant preparation before the stabbing.
Student Had Been Living in Switzerland
The man came from China's Sichuan province and had moved to Switzerland to study.
He was reportedly enrolled in a master's degree programme in computational linguistics at the University of Zurich.
People who knew him before the incident reportedly described him as quiet and academically successful.
Investigators said there was no indication that another person was involved in planning or carrying out the attack.
Mental Health Became Central Issue at Trial
Much of the court case focused on the defendant's mental condition at the time of the stabbing.
A psychiatric expert said the man had experienced a serious psychotic disorder around the time of the attack.
The defendant reportedly told investigators that he had begun hearing a voice several weeks before the stabbing.
His defence argued that his mental condition severely affected his ability to control his actions and sought a different legal outcome based on diminished or absent criminal responsibility.
The court nevertheless convicted him of attempted murder and imposed a 15-year prison sentence.
He was also ordered to receive psychiatric treatment while serving his sentence.
15-Year Expulsion From Switzerland
In addition to the prison term, the court ordered the man to leave Switzerland and banned him from returning for 15 years.
His defence has indicated that it intends to appeal the ruling, meaning the judgment is not yet final.
The case attracted widespread attention in Switzerland because of the young age of the victims and the intervention of bystanders who prevented the attack from continuing.
All three children survived the stabbing.
No comments:
Post a Comment