BEIJING: A court in northern China handed lengthy prison terms to two teenagers for murdering their classmate with a shovel in March, state media said on Monday, in a case that triggered heated public debate on juvenile delinquency.

The male suspects surnamed Zhang and Li were sentenced to life and 12 years in jail respectively for intentional homicide by a court in the city of Handan in the province of Hebei, CCTV said, but no motive was given.

The court found the methods of the killing `were particularly cruel, and the circumstances were particularly heinous`, it added. A third suspect surnamed Ma escaped with a sentence of `special correctional education`, in line with the law, the broadcaster said. All three were aged 13 at the time of the murder.

They were detained the day after the body of the 13-year-old victim, surnamed Wang, was found on March 10, buried in a shallow pit in an abandoned greenhouse on the city`s outskirts, state media said.

The court said Zhang bore principal responsibility for killing Wang with a shovel and initially devised the murder plan, while Li, his main accomplice, joined in the killing and subsequent burial.-Reuters