Fang Jiantang

Case record: Fang Jiantang

Background

Fang Jiantang (方建堂) was a 26-year-old man who attacked a kindergarten in Zibo, Shandong province.

The offence

On 3 August 2010, Fang Jiantang slashed more than 20 children and staff with a 60cm knife.

He killed 3 children and 1 teacher at a kindergarten in Zibo, Shandong province.

Among those injured, 3 other children and 4 teachers were taken to the hospital.

Some reports described the attack as involving multiple attackers.

The attack was described as happening in the afternoon, with Internet accounts stating it took place about 4 p.m.

Investigation

After the attack, Fang Jiantang was caught and confessed to the crime.

A motive was not known at the time of reporting.

Government officials imposed a news blackout immediately after the attack, with few details filtering out through media sources.

Local police, government offices, and the hospital in Zibo refused to give details.

News of the attack only came out Wednesday, nearly 24 hours after the fact.

Arrest

After the attack, some reports said the man fled the scene but later turned himself in to police.

Fang Jiantang was identified as the attacker.

Trial

No trial information was provided.

Sentencing

No sentencing information was provided in the case record.

Appeals

No appeal information was provided.

Outcome

Fang Jiantang was probably executed on 3 August 2010.

Aftermath

The attack was described as part of a string of school assaults that had stunned the nation and led to government officials scrambling to suppress public outrage.

A news blackout and bans on photographs were described as being used to limit reporting and online traces.

Experts cited mental health system shortcomings, including that trained psychiatrists, psychologists and mental hospitals were limited and that mental illness carried a social stigma.

The government was described as being more heavy-handed in maintaining “stability” and security, with violence described as potentially being a backlash when people felt pressure.

Ma Ai, a professor of criminal psychology at the China University of Politics and Law, called the attacks, and other random incidents against adults that go largely unnoticed, “the inevitable result of rapid social change in China.”

“It’s a matter of how to express their dissatisfaction,” Ma said.
“It’s easier to draw attention by attacking kids.”
“In the past 30 years of opening and reform, China attached more importance to economic development and ignored fairness in society,” Ma said.
“When people feel they are treated unfairly, they fight for themselves, no matter in which way.”
“The authorities took simple measures to keep the stability, like suppressing people,” he said.
“But in terms of social psychology, when people feel pressure, they will push back against the pressure being imposed on them.”

Parents were described as being scared after the attack, with some children not attending other nearby kindergartens.

A teacher from a nearby kindergarten said: “News about the kindergarten is blocked.”

“Last night, the local news didn't cover the accident. This morning, the head of our kindergarten had a meeting in the city to discuss enhanced security. But no other news was released. ”
“I would be lying if I said I'm not panicked,” she said.
“I worry a lot in my heart. But we have two full-time security guards and two part-time security guards. Besides that, our kindergarten has already installed advanced alarming system and cameras. We have three locked gates to cross to enter our kindergarten.”

The director of the nearby Golden Key Kindergarten said: “The tragedy happened so suddenly. Parents are scared. More than 100 kids in our kindergarten didn't come today. Their parents dare not to put their kids in kindergarten now.”

A local primary school in Zibo posted a notice Wednesday saying all parents had to come into the classroom to pick up their children, according to a local hairdresser whose child attends the school.

Timeline

• 3 August 2010 — Fang Jiantang slashed more than 20 children and staff with a 60cm knife at a kindergarten in Zibo; 3 children and 1 teacher were killed; 3 other children and 4 teachers were taken to hospital; Fang Jiantang was caught and confessed to the crime; a news blackout was imposed.
• 4 August 2010 — Reporting described the attack and its toll, and discussed broader context and reactions.

Other details

The kindergarten in Zibo was described as the Boshan District Experimental Kindergarten in the Golden Phoenix Compound, a facility for government workers.

It was described as having 40 to 50 students attending, most of them the children of local civil service workers.

Fang Jiantang lived about 100 yards from where the attack occurred.

Some postings said the kindergarten was limited to the children of local government officials, which was later confirmed by Li Heping, a noted lawyer and defender of human-rights activists in Beijing.

A local resident described difficulty finding out what happened, and it was said that Chinese media websites carried prominently displayed stories about a workplace shooting in Connecticut that left nine people dead, but did not cover the kindergarten attack in Zibo.