An 8-year-old boy died of severe brain injuries after being beaten up by 11 schoolmates in Hebei, but police played down the case, saying the boys just wanted to pass the time, according to a report.

11 schoolmates beat boy to death; police downplay case.[Photo/weibo]

Police found that 11 students, aged between 10 and 14, gathered in a square in Baishu Village around 4pm on June 28. Bored, the boys decided to "find someone to beat" to occupy their day, a police squad captain surnamed Liu in Xiheying Town told Beijing Times yesterday.

The victim identified as Xiao Hui was targeted. He was forcibly carried to nearby Yongningzhai Village. There, he was beaten in a square and then in a cornfield until he lost consciousness. Xiao was then moved to the roadside, Liu told the newspaper.

Police received an anonymous phone call around 7pm that day, in which the caller said a boy was lying motionless along the roadside. Police rushed to the scene and sent Xiao to Xiheying Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, the report said.

Xiao's went to the hospital the following morning.

"I was speechless when I saw my son sleeping motionless on the bed and the doctor told me he was dying," the father was quoted as saying.

Xiao was transferred to 251 Hospital in Zhangjiakou City. Despite emergency treatment, he was pronounced dead of severe brain injures at 8pm on June 30, the report said.

Villagers told the newspaper that Xiao Hui had always been bullied by senior students, led by a fifth grader identified as Dong Dong, at Baishui Central Primary School.

The report didn't say whether Dong was involved in the attack on Xiao.

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