BEIJING - Chinese judges on Monday strongly condemned the murder of a retired judge in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Fu Mingsheng, who worked at a court of Luchuan county in Guangxi, was reportedly killed with a knife at his residence on Jan. 26 by suspect Long Jiancai, a defendant in a divorce case that Fu heard in 1994, according to a statement released by the committee in charge of protecting judges' rights and interests under the China Association of Judges.

Details of the case are not yet available.

There have been frequent cases of assaults and insults of judges in recent years. Some have been followed, harassed and threatened. Such incidents have diminished the authority and credibility of the judiciary, according to the statement.