A viral video of a first grader who was tied up and beaten in an abandon house by four junior high school students in Qingyuan county, Zhejiang Province has sparked a call for punishment of the juveniles on social media.
Local police said via their official Sina Weibo account on Monday that the victim and four other students in the video have been identified and are under 14 years old.
The video clip shows a boy loosely tied with rope around his neck and body being hit and stomped on the head and ankles by several older boys in a closed room.
The boy, who appears to be around 7 years old, can be heard crying for mercy as he is slapped repeatedly in the face by much bigger children and threatened with lit cigarettes.
At least twice his tormentors are seen dropping lit cigarettes down his T-shirt.
The four students involved in the attack will apologize to the victim, according to police.
Local education authorities have arranged counseling for the young boy.
The incident has resulted in a tidal wave of criticism online against the four students.
Chen Li, an official with the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, encouraged Net users on Sina Weibo to share information about similar incidents involving bullying.
Most on social media called for harsher punishment for juveniles that commit violence.
"Why are juvenile bullies forgiven just because of their age?" Sina Weibo user "Dawang daren de nvwang" commented.
According to China's Criminal Law, minors under the ages of 14 will not be criminally prosecuted. However, parents or guardians can be ordered to administer discipline.
