Girl, 8, dies after stranger throws her into river

An 8-year-old girl died after being thrown into the Jialing River by an unknown man in Nanchong, Sichuan province, while walking with her grandmother on Jan 24. Police have detained the man and are still waiting for evaluation results on his mental status, West China Metropolis Daily reported.

The girl, who was about 2 meters away from her grandmother, was crossing the Jialing River Bridge in the morning of Jan 24 when a middle-aged man behind them grabbed her, threw her into the river and then jumped in himself.

Fishermen on the river took both the girl and the man ashore, but the girl died.

The man, who is in detention, comes from a very poor family that cannot pay a substantial sum of money in compensation. He is jobless and possibly suffers from psychological problems, police said.