The number of criminal cases involving homicides and other fatal disputes in Beijing’s southeastern regions has declined over the past few years, the Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court said today.

The court, which manages cases in the capital’s Fengtai, Dongcheng, Fangshan and Daxing districts, handled 219 homicide cases and 36 other cases involving killings over the past three years. There were 146 such cases in 2013, but only 68 last year, the court said.

The court handled 41 cases from January to September this year.

"The cases involving peoples’ deaths has been decreasing. The majority of them were triggered by conflicts," said Cui Yang, a court vice-president responsible for criminal cases. "We tackled more than 210 cases caused by people’s argument and conflicts, 111 were homicides and 93 were intentional injuries."

About 73 percent of the killings were triggered by conflicts related to migrants and most defendants were jobless, said Cui, the court’s spokeswoman. Tragedies among lovers, family members and colleagues were also frequent, she said.

Nineteen of the murders were related to property and most of them were premeditated, she said.

Zhang Sulian, chief judge of the court’s criminal case tribunal, suggested more defendants offer compensation before verdicts are announced, "because a better compensation may more easily get understanding from victims’ families".

Many migrant defendants have little income, however, Zhang said, adding they may need to ask for legal assistance.