A Chinese man who in 2024 knifed a group of children on their way to a daycare centre in Switzerland, wounding three of them, was on Friday sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The man, whose identity was not disclosed by Swiss media, was found guilty of attempted murder by a court in Zurich, the city where the crime happened, the Keystone-ATS news agency reported. He is to lodge an appeal.
The Chinese man, aged 23 at the time, attacked the children on October 1, 2024 as they were walking along a residential street to the daycare centre. Three boys aged five were wounded and had to be hospitalised.
A daycare worker accompanying the children, with the help of a passerby, overpowered the man, who was arrested at the scene.
Prosecutors said the man, who was studying in Switzerland, confessed under questioning.
The court’s judge said the man acted “coldly” and “without scruple”.
His defence lawyer had argued for an acquittal on the basis of a psychiatric report suggesting that his client had mental issues and was not responsible for his actions at the time of the attack.
On Thursday during his trial, the man told the court that three weeks before the attack he heard a voice in his head telling him to kill children, according to Keystone-ATS.
The prosecution dismissed the testimony, saying he had not previously told investigators about that.
Instead, the prosecution insisted that the man had carefully planned the attack over weeks.
Prosecutors alleged that, in August 2024, the man had asked ChatGPT what criminal consequences he would face for randomly stabbing victims and issued prompts about human anatomy, Keystone-ATS reported.
