Three teenagers convicted in fatal stabbing of snack bar owner in The Hague

Three teenagers were convicted by the court in The Hague on Thursday for their roles in the fatal stabbing of a 39-year-old snack bar owner in The Hague in January. Two girls, aged 15 and 17, and a 17-year-old boy, the younger girl's brother, received sentences of up to 12 months in juvenile detention, followed by an additional four to seven years in a psychiatric institution.

The snack bar owner Wei Chen was fatally stabbed on the evening of 27 January while returning home with his wife from their snack bar in Houtwijk, The Hague. The incident occurred at Doctor H.E. van Geldererf in the Loosduinen district. Chen was beaten and kicked in the head and body, and suffered a stab wound to the chest and two more on his back. After emergency responders attempted resuscitation, Chen was taken to a hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. Within hours, the three underage suspects were arrested.

According to the court, the 15-year-old girl initiated the assault on the victim, first with the 17-year-old girl and soon after with her 17-year-old brother. The younger girl stabbed the victim three times, and both girls were violent towards the man's wife.

The court sentenced the 15-year-old girl to 12 months in juvenile detention and an additional four years in a youth psychiatric institution, which can be extended to seven years, for manslaughter and public violence. This sentence is the maximum for her age and is in line with the Public Prosecution Service's demand.

The court highlighted her apparent lack of genuine remorse, citing a secretly recorded conversation between the two girls in which they discussed the incident with "utmost disdain."

Both the 17-year-old girl and boy were convicted of public violence but acquitted of manslaughter. The court found that while they did not stab the victim, they did participate in the violence. “By participating in this, they increased the chance that things would get out of hand,” the court stated.

The 17-year-old girl was sentenced to 10 months in juvenile detention, followed by four to seven years in a psychiatric institution. This sentence also took into account her attempted manslaughter of her mother's ex-boyfriend in September 2022. The prosecutor asked for 14 months in juvenile detention for her.

The 17-year-old boy was sentenced to six months in juvenile detention and four to seven years in a psychiatric institution. Besides the violence against the snack bar owner, he was convicted of four counts of phone theft. He was on probation for two separate convictions at the time of the incident. The Public Prosecution Service demanded a 10-month juvenile detention sentence for him.

The three teenagers are jointly required to pay compensation of more than 96,000 euros to the victim's surviving relatives.