Police are searching for a boy accused of killing his parents with a hammer in central China on Monday.

Luo Feng, 13, fled the scene after bludgeoning his father, Luo Jichun, 51, and mother Tan Jinhua, 45, to death during a dispute on New Year’s Eve.

The boy’s sister informed their relatives about the incident, who then called the Hengnan County police. However, both of them had succumbed to injuries by the time police reached the scene in Santang, Hunan province. Information regarding where exactly the attack took place was unknown.

The teen’s sister and mother had mental disabilities, the South China Morning Post reported.

A police notice released Tuesday described the boy as lean, 1.63 meters tall. He was last seen wearing a green jacket at an internet café in Santang. Police have offered a reward of 10,000 yuan (US$1,500) to anyone who gives whereabouts about the boy and 30,000 yuan for the person who turns the teen in to police.

This is not the first time a child has been accused of killing parents in China. In December 2018, a 12-year-old boy was released without charge after spending three days in prison for stabbing his mother to death.

Wu Jiakang, stabbed his 34-year-old mother, Chen Xin, after a dispute in the bedroom of their house in Hunan province. He then changed the bloodstained clothes and locked the bedroom. The mother succumbed to multiple stab wounds. Her body was discovered the next day by the boy’s grandmother, who had come over to visit them.

The grandmother immediately informed the police and when they reached the house, the unperturbed boy told them that his mother killed herself. However, when he was taken into custody, he revealed he had killed her as an act of revenge.

Reports suggested that the boy attacked his mother after she caught him smoking and started hitting him with a belt. Though the boy did not reveal the reason behind the attack, a message from his phone sent to his school the day before the attack stated he had caught a cold and that he wouldn’t be attending school the following day.

The boy’s release sparked debate on how to deal with such juveniles who commit serious crimes.

“We’re all saying that he got away without punishment, and we’re afraid he will do something like it again when he gets back to school,” a local resident said. - ibtimes