Seven teenagers from East China's Zhejiang Province have been given prison sentences for trapping and beating one girl in a hotel for hours and forcing another to dance topless in a bar, media reported Sunday.
A Wenzhou court ruled last week that the seven teenagers, aged from 16 to 19, were guilty of assault and illegal detention and handed them sentences ranging from nine months to six and a half years, Central China Central Television (CCTV) reported.
One of the victims, Xiao Ting (pseudonym), was trapped in a hotel room by the seven and abused over the course of an 11 hour-long ordeal on the night of February 18, the Hangzhou Daily reported Wednesday.
The seven allegedly took turns attacking Xiao Ting including slapping her face, kicking her belly, pouring cold water over her body and forcing her to kneel down to "apologize" to them, the report added.
The other victim was reportedly forced to dance topless in a bar before being physically and verbally abused by the teenagers after they left the hotel.
"[The attackers'] childhood experiences are related to abuse. Most of them grew up with a single father and in an environment that lacked love, and some of them experienced violence before," Weng Xinyu, a judge at the court, told CCTV.
This is not the only child bullying case to catch the nation's attention recently, though only a few have resulted in criminal convictions.
An article written by a mother about how her son was allegedly bullied at Zhongguancun No.2 Primary School in Beijing stirred great controversy in November on social media with many netizens criticizing the bullies and the school promising to act.
The Ministry of Education released new guiding principles on bullying and violence among students on November 11, demanding stronger prevention and punishment of bullying, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
