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Intentional injury, public order disturbances and gang-related fights are the most common violent acts committed by students in the capital, a report issued by Beijing High People's Court said on Tuesday.
Beijing courts concluded 200 cases relating to violence among students over the past five years, 78 percent of which related to youngsters who fell into one of the three categories listed above, the report said.
Most were gang-related crimes and a large number of offenders were males, it added.
Sun Li, vice-president of the court, said that many cases happened on students' way home or to school and other places where teachers were absent, including car parks and gardens near campus.
"Lots of the violence over the past five years can be attributed to trivialities, such as arguments, quarrels or even jokes," Sun said. "Young people are sensitive and find it hard to control themselves, which might easily lead to tragedies."
He said that it's sometimes hard for young victims to recover, "because mental damage brought on by insulting behavior, such as cursing, is difficult to remove from the victims' memories".
In addition, young victims in nearly 10 percent of cases intentionally injured others, or became offenders themselves, as they were not guided effectively in schools, the report said.
Sun suggested a new law on school safety, which should clarify the responsibilities of schools, governments, families and students.
