The parents of a 10-year-old schoolgirl who was sexually assaulted and murdered by a schoolboy neighbour who could not be punished because he was underage have finally decided to cremate her body.

The family of little Qiqi had vowed to keep their daughter’s body at the funeral home until justice had been served and the case was dealt with, so that she could be finally put to rest.

But 600 days after her murder in October 2019 they say that justice is still not happened but it’s now time to lay her to rest.

The case, which made international headlines, also sparked heated debate over the age of criminal responsibility in China, when it was revealed that the killer who was a 13-year-old named Cai Minzhe was too young to be prosecuted.

The tragedy happened when the girl was supposed to be collected by her father but had decided to make her own way home after he fell asleep following a busy day at the shop.

CCTV footage shows her walking home as she ended up meeting the boy who lured her to his home in the city of Dalian in Northeast Liaoning province, where he then sexually assaulted her, before stabbing her to death and dumping the body in a ditch.

Her worried parents found her body in the ditch which was near their home the following day.

After heated debate about the inability to punish him as he was regarded as not criminally responsible, he was eventually placed in a rehabilitation centre which was the heaviest punishment that was available under the current legislation. He was expected to remain there for a maximum of three years.

Both the boy and the girl live in the same community and her killer apparently attended the same school as her brother so that they knew each other, although not well.

Many people noted that the boy seem to be considerably larger than other 13-year-olds, sparking further debate about whether 13-year-olds should be held criminally responsible for their actions.

As the family sought justice, they were eventually awarded in August last year CNY1.28 million (GBP142,542.63) in compensation.

Yet no money was paid, and eventually they managed to gain control of the family home of the killer boy but say it has proved difficult to sell and to date they have still not received a penny.

However, they have now accepted that the child will never come back, and that nothing can undo what happened, and after her body continued to waste away in the funeral home, they have decided to cremate her.

The cremation has reportedly now been carried out.