A father who killed a 9-year-old boy who he believed had been bullying his daughter in class was sentenced to death on Friday.

(Photo: VCG)

The man, identified only as Wang, said he would not appeal to a higher court, according to the Shangrao Intermediate People's Court in Jiangxi province.

On May 9, the girl told her father that a classmate at Shangrao No 5 Primary School, surnamed Liu, had bullied her. Wang raised the issue angrily in a WeChat group for his daughter's class, saying that the boy had "repeatedly beat and scolded" his daughter, the court said.

Knowing that her husband had a bad temper, the girl's mother talked to the class head and Liu's parents, hoping to solve the problem by rearranging the children's seats, which the teacher said could be done, according to the court.

The next day, when Wang took his daughter to school, he got angry because he did not see Liu's parents there. He insisted on sending the girl back home, even though the girl's mother had told him the problem has been resolved, according to the court.

He later returned to the school with a knife, stormed into the classroom and stabbed Liu in the chest, back, arms and legs more than 10 times. However, Liu's seat had been changed and he was sitting by himself in the last row, the court release said.

The boy died after being sent to hospital.

The case shocked the public and went viral on Chinese social media.

In the ruling handed down on Friday, the court said Wang could not properly handle the relationship between his daughter and her classmate. He assumed his daughter had been bullied and committed the crime for revenge.

"Wang's behaviors constitute the crime of intentional homicide," the ruling said.

The court said although Wang turned himself in and confessed his crime, such extremely cruel behavior brought great negative effects to society and he was not forgiven by the victim's family. "Therefore, the court decided not to be lenient in punishing him," the ruling said.

Ruan Chuansheng, a criminal law professor at Shanghai Administration Institute, supported the ruling, saying the father's behaviors could not be tolerated.

"School is a place for education, but such violent actions damaged the school's security and also brought negative impact on other students," he said, adding that parents should be rational and sensible when their children are having problems at school.