Three adolescent boys have been arrested by authorities in the northern Chinese city of Handan in connection with their classmate’s horrific death, local media reports state.

His remains were discovered by the authorities and buried in a neglected vegetable garden.

The youngster’s father claimed that the boy had been bullied at school.

According to the state-run Global Times, police are looking into the incident as an intentional homicide.

The three teenagers in custody are all less than fourteen. According to Chinese law, the nation’s top public prosecutor, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, must get permission before anyone under the age of 14 but over the age of 12 can be charged with a crime.

Tens of thousands of messages on Weibo and Douyin over the course of the weekend reflect the outpouring of grief on social media in response to the case.

One person commented on a post by the victim’s father that received 50,000 likes, saying, “The whole country is watching this case. I hope the police can be fair and give the victim’s family a satisfying answer.”