Screenshot from the TV show Plaats Delict (crime scene), which shared footage of the abuse. Photo Plaats Delict A Chinese PhD student was pelted with stones, kicked and beaten on the campus in April last year. The suspect has been sentenced to community service, the public prosecutor states. Another suspect faces trial on 8 April.
After footage of the assault was broadcast, the police received tips that led to three suspects. One of them, a 19-year-old man, was sentenced to community service. He must also pay the victim damages.
Another suspect, a minor, was acquitted by the children’s judge on 14 February. Because the cases were tried through a hearing or by a children’s judge, they took place behind closed doors. Hence, the public prosecutor offers no further comments on these cases. A third suspect, who was eighteen at the time of the assault, will stand trial in Arnhem on 8 April.
The assault sparked fear and outrage in the international community last year. Some internationals said they no longer felt safe in Wageningen due to intimidations by “local youths”. In a letter to the municipality and the university, they reported having been pelted with eggs and stones, suffering verbal abuse and other forms of aggressive behaviour. A meeting on physical safety was organised in Omnia in June. The police answered questions from students and employees on how to respond in unsafe situations, when to call 112, and what types of self-defence are permitted.