Teenagers held in China over classmate's death

BEIJING, Mar 18 (BBC): Authorities in the northern Chinese city of Handan have detained three teenage boys over the brutal death of their classmate, local media report.

The case of the 13-year-old boy, identified only by his surname Wang, has sparked anger and furious debate on juvenile crime. Authorities found his remains buried in an abandoned vegetable garden. The boy was bullied in school, according to his father.

Police are investigating the case as an intentional homicide, state-run Global Times said. All three detained teens are under 14. Under Chinese law, those above 12 years of age but under 14 can face criminal prosecution only when allowed by the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the country's highest public prosecutor.

The victim and his classmates are "left-behind children", a term used to describe kids in China who live with their grandparents in rural areas while their parents work in the cities.