A Chinese student was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday in the bullying case of a fellow “parachute kid” in a Rowland Heights park, an assault that prompted soul-searching on both sides of the Pacific for the horrific details of the attack as well as the attention it brought to the increasing numbers of teenagers who attend high school in California while their parents remain in China.
Zheng Lu, 20, who pleaded guilty to assault, is the fourth student from China to receive prison time for the incident. Three others are already serving prison terms, ranging from six to 13 years for the attack on the woman, then age 18.
A judge said the case reminded him of Lord of the Flies, William Golding’s 1954 novel about boys stranded on a deserted island without grownups.
On March 30, 2015, a group of so-called parachute kids - also known as “astronaut children” - attacked the 18-year-old victim, stripping her naked, kicking her with high-heeled shoes, slapping her and burning her with cigarettes.
In February, Yunyao “Helen” Zhai was sentenced to 13 years for her role as the alleged ringleader of the attack as well as an assault on a second victim. Zhai, 20, had earlier pleaded guilty to kidnapping and assault in both attacks and inflicting great bodily injury in one of the attacks.
Xinlei “John” Zhang, 19, received six years because of his lesser role in the two attacks.
According to preliminary hearing testimony, Zhang was present but did not directly participate other than fetching a pair of scissors that the others used to cut off the victim’s hair in the March 30 attack. They then forced her to eat the hair.
Yuhan “Coco” Yang, 19, who received 10 years for kidnapping and assault, as well as inflicting great bodily injury, participated only in the March 30 attack.
Zhai, Zhang and Yang were charged in June 2015 and prosecuted together. Lu, who was not arrested until December 2015, was prosecuted separately.
In juvenile court, two other teenagers have admitted to assault in one or both incidents. Authorities believe that additional teens involved in the incidents have fled the country.
In statements at the February sentencing, the defendants urged Chinese parents to think carefully before sending their children to the US without supervision, a trend that has gained traction among the middle class as well as the rich.
Parents hope their children will learn English and gain an edge on admission to an American university. The teenagers typically study at private high schools and rent rooms from local families.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Chinese ‘parachute kid’ jailed for assault
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