8-Year-Old Boy Violently Assaults 2-Year-Old Girl To Steal Her Snacks

An 8-year-old boy has brutally beaten up a 2-year-old girl in China so he could steal her snacks.

The little girl was playing alone inside her home in the city of Haikou when the boy, identified by the surname Zhuang, entered the house. The boy then demanded that the girl give him the snacks she was holding, NextShark reported, citing a post uploaded on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo.

When the girl refused to hand over the snacks, he began violently assaulting her to steal the food.

The boy was reportedly caught on surveillance video kicking the girl to the ground and stomping her head. He ran away when the girl's grandfather arrived and began yelling.

The video of the assault quickly spread on social media, sparking outrage among netizens. Screenshots from the said footage also made rounds online.

The girl's family claimed the boy's parents initially denied their son's actions.

"The parents of Zhuang tried to deny the attack happened until we showed them the surveillance video," the girl's parents wrote in an open letter, according to the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

Upon seeing the video footage, Zhuang's parents confronted the boy about the attack.

"I beat whenever I want," the boy reportedly told his parents in response.

The girl suffered head trauma, and four of her teeth were damaged in the attack.

The girl's family also noted in their open letter that they never had issues with the boy's family in the past. However, they claimed that his parents showed no remorse over the violent incident and refused to apologize.

Zhuang's parents reportedly asked the girl's family not to involve the police, saying, "We can't afford to compensate you, and there is nothing you could do to punish us."

The girl's family was unhappy with the parents' reaction to the attack and went to the police. The incident is currently being investigated.

Meanwhile, netizens who saw the video of the assault were shocked by the boy's actions.

"What would happen if her grandpa didn't show up right at the time? It's so scary," one commenter said, as per SCMP, while another wrote, "Oh my God, that poor little girl! How could the boy's family behave like this? Really, I hope the police impose punishment on the boy."

"I feel like it was an attempted murder. If someone hadn't shouted when he kicked her like this, he would have kicked her to death. After all, 2-year-olds are still very fragile," NextShark quoted another netizen as saying.

A lawyer working with a Shanghai-based firm reportedly spoke to SCMP about the incident.

"If a person who has not attained the age of 14 commits such an act, he shall not be penalized, but his guardian shall be instructed to subject him to strict discipline," the lawyer told the outlet. "In this case, the parents of the boy might be asked to better monitor their child and pay compensation to the victim."