China prosecutes 60,000 suspects for harming minors

About 60,000 suspects were prosecuted in China for harming minors from January last year to April this year, including several high-profile abuse cases, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said today.

Since last year, a total of 231 suspects have been prosecuted for offences in kindergartens, said Zheng Xinjian, a senior prosecutor in charge of underage cases at a press conference.

Zheng said that the suspect of a high-profile child abuse case in Beijing, who was accused of using sewing needles to "discipline" children at RYB Education New World Kindergarten, was being prosecuted.

The suspects of child abuse cases at a day care centre under contract to a leading travel agency in Shanghai and a nursery in the eastern Chinese city of Nanjing are also being taken to the court, Zheng said.

Chinese prosecuting agencies have stepped up efforts against offenses involving minors, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Since 2015, all cases involving underage victims have been handled by specialised departments, Zheng said.