Chinese teen throws toddler into cesspool

A teenager in China has been arrested for allegedly killing a three-year-old girl by throwing her into a cesspool.

The toddler, nicknamed Qiqi, from the town of Anxi, in southern Fujian province, had failed to return home on Tuesday evening and a search for her was launched, reported Chengdu Business Daily.

The little girl's body was retrieved from the cesspool on Thursday afternoon.

According to police reports, the 13-year-old girl, known as Xiaomin, had offered to walk Qiqi home at about 8pm on Tuesday after it had turned dark and the toddler became scared.

As the two girls were walking through a residential compound, Xiaomin said she accidentally slammed a heavy gate on the younger child, knocking her unconscious.

HIDE EVIDENCE

Thinking she had killed her, the teenager panicked and decided to hide the evidence, the report said.

Afraid that her parents would be made to pay a large sum of money in compensation, she carried Qiqi to a nearby cesspool, removed the stone slab covering it and dropped the child inside.

She then replaced the stone and returned home, pretending nothing had happened, it said.

When Qiqi failed to return home, her family became worried and with the help of neighbours searched the area for the missing child, reported Shanghai Daily.

When they failed to find her, they called the police about 11pm, the report said.

As part of their investigation, the police watched footage captured by a surveillance camera showing the two girls together at 8.21pm.

Xiaomin and her grandmother were taken into custody, and after questioning, the teenager told police what had happened.

A forensic team said the child had died from suffocation.

Xiaomin's parents, who work in Chongqing, a city in the south-west, have returned to Anxi. They said they will apologise to Qiqi's parents and compensate them, the report said.

Neighbours said Xiaomin is a sensible girl who had always helped her grandparents.

This article was first published on Aug 18, 2014.
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