HONG KONG — It began with a quarrel over cigarettes.

Weighed down by loans and the burden of single parenting, a 34-year-old woman often took home leftover food and unopened packs of cigarettes from the banquets she occasionally attended in a nearby village in central China.

But one night earlier this month, she discovered that her 12-year-old son had stolen and smoked four packs, and she exploded with rage and beat him, according to local media reports.

The next morning, the woman identified only by her surname, Chen (her full name was not released by the authorities) was found dead in her bedroom, stabbed to death by her son, the police said. When the boy, who has been identified only by his surname, was asked by relatives if he regretted his actions, he said that he did, but that he didn’t think it was a big deal.

“I didn’t kill anyone else. I killed my mom,” he was quoted as saying.

Back in School

In the eyes of many Chinese, the boy was a heartless criminal who deserved to be punished. But in China, where the minimum age of criminal responsibility is 14, he could not be held legally responsible. The boy was released by the authorities in the town of Yuanjiang, in Hunan Province, with no conditions.