A court in Yunnan province sentenced a teenager to life imprisonment on Tuesday for the attempted rape and subsequent murder of his classmate.

The Intermediate People's Court in Qujing found the boy, identified by his surname Jiang, guilty of rape and intentional homicide.

It said that on the night of July 6 into the early hours of July 7, 2025, Jiang attempted to rape a girl using violence and, fearing exposure, strangled her to death.

Jiang was 14 at the time of the crime, and the victim was 15, the court said.

The court described the circumstances as "extremely serious", warranting severe punishment. Because Jiang was under 18, the death penalty was not considered under Chinese law.

The court imposed life imprisonment, the maximum penalty for juvenile offenders, based on the nature and severity of his actions.

The victim's family, along with national lawmakers, political advisers and journalists, attended the sentencing.

China adheres to the principle of "education first, punishment second" in handling cases involving minors, but that does not preclude strict penalties. The age of criminal liability is generally 16, with those aged 14 to 16 held criminally responsible for serious violent crimes such as intentional killing, serious injury, robbery or rape.

To curb juvenile crime, China lowered the age of criminal responsibility to 12 in certain cases.

Under the amended Criminal Law, which took effect in 2021, children aged 12 to 14 can be held criminally liable for intentional homicide or intentional injury resulting in death or severe disability if carried out with extreme cruelty.

In such cases, approval is required from the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

In March, the SPP said in its annual work report that it approved the prosecution of 24 minors involved in serious violent crimes in 2025. The Supreme People's Court said 2,356 juveniles were sentenced to five years or more last year for serious violent offenses.

In recent years, authorities have stepped up efforts to prevent juvenile crime, including strengthening education and rehabilitation programs for young offenders and cracking down on crimes against minors.

Measures include developing specialized schools to implement tiered intervention and correction systems, introducing mandatory reporting requirements for schools, hotels and other venues, and expanding background checks for employees in educational institutions.