Amendment VIII to the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China

     Updated : 2015-12-01

Where an entity commits the crime as provided for in the preceding paragraph, a fine shall be imposed on it, and its directly responsible person and other directly liable persons shall be punished according to the provision of the preceding paragraph.

Whoever commits an act as mentioned in the preceding two paragraphs without serious consequences but pays labor remunerations before a public prosecution is instituted and assumes the corresponding compensatory liability according to law may be given a mitigated penalty or exempted from penalty.”

42. Article 293 is amended as: “Whoever disrupts the social order by committing any of the following provocative and disturbing acts shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 5 years, criminal detention or control:

(1) Assaulting any other person at will, with execrable circumstances;

(2) Chasing, intercepting, reviling or intimidating any other person, with execrable circumstances;

(3) Taking or demanding forcibly or vandalizing or occupying at will public or private property, with serious circumstances; or

(4) Making trouble in a public place, which causes a serious disorder of the public place.

Whoever assembles other people to commit the acts as mentioned in the preceding paragraph many times, which seriously disrupt the social order, shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years and may be fined in addition.”

43. Article 294 is amended as: “Whoever organizes or leads an organization of a gangland nature shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 7 years and a forfeiture of property; whoever actively participates in an organization of a gangland nature shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 7 years and may be sentenced to a fine or forfeiture of property in addition; whoever otherwise gets involved in an organization of a gangland nature shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 3 years, criminal detention, control or deprivation of political rights and may be fined in addition.

A member of an overseas gangland organization who recruits members of the organization within the territory of the People’s Republic of China shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years.

Any state functionary who harbors an organization of a gangland nature or connives at such an organization’s illegal or criminal activities shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 5 years; or if the circumstances are serious, be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 5 years.

Whoever also commits any other crime while committing a crime as mentioned in the preceding three paragraphs shall be punished according to the provisions on the joinder of penalties for plural crimes.

An organization of a gangland nature shall have all of the following characteristics:

(1) A relatively stable criminal organization is formed with a relatively large number of members, and there are specific organizers or leaders and basically fixed core members.

(2) Economic interests are gained by organized illegal or criminal activities or other means, and it has certain financial strength to support its activities.

(3) By violence, threat or other means, it commits organized illegal or criminal activities many times to do evil, bully and cruelly injure or kill people.

(4) It dominates a certain area by committing illegal or criminal activities or taking advantage of the harboring or connivance by the state functionaries, forming an illegal control or significant influence in a certain area or sector, which seriously disrupts the economic and social order.”

44. Article 295 is amended as: “Whoever teaches methods for committing a crime shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 5 years, criminal detention or control; if the circumstances are serious, be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years; or if the circumstances are especially serious, be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment.”

45. Paragraph 1 of Article 328 is amended as: “Whoever robs any site of ancient culture or ancient tomb of a historical, artistic or scientific value shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years and a fine; if the circumstances are minor, be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 3 years, criminal detention or control and a fine; or under any of the following circumstances, be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment and a fine or forfeiture of property:

(1) Robbing any site of ancient culture or ancient tomb which has been determined as a key cultural relic under the protection of the state or a cultural relic under the protection of a province;

(2) Being a ringleader of a group of robbers of sites of ancient culture and ancient tombs;

(3) Having robbed sites of ancient culture and ancient tombs many times; or

(4) Robbing a site of ancient culture or ancient tomb of valuable cultural relics or causing severe damage to valuable cultural relics.”

46. Article 338 is amended as: “Whoever, in violation of the state provisions, discharges, dumps or disposes of any radioactive waste, any waste containing pathogens of any infectious disease, any poisonous substance or any other hazardous substance, which has caused serious environmental pollution, shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 3 years or criminal detention and/or a fine; or if there are especially serious consequences, be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 7 years and a fine.”

47. Paragraph 1 of Article 343 is amended as: “Whoever, in violation of the Mineral Resources Law, engages in mining without a mining permit, enters a mining area under state planning, a mining area of great value to the national economy or a mining area of any other person to engage in mining without approval, or engages in mining of a special mineral which is subject to protective excavation according to the state provisions without approval shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 3 years, criminal detention or control and/or a fine if the circumstances are serious; or if the circumstances are especially serious, be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 7 years and a fine.”

48. Paragraph 3 of Article 358 is amended as: “Whoever recruits or transports persons for an organizer of prostitution or otherwise assists in organizing prostitution shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 5 years and a fine; or if the circumstances are serious, be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years and a fine.”

49. One Article is added after Article 408 as Article 408A: “Where a state functionary with food safety supervision and management functions abuses his powers or neglects his duties, if any serious food safety accident or other serious consequence is caused, he shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than 5 years or criminal detention; or if any especially serious consequence is caused, be sentenced to imprisonment of not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years.

Where the crime as provided for in the preceding paragraph is committed by the state functionary by making falsehood for personal gains, a heavier penalty shall be imposed on him.”

50. This Amendment shall come into force on May 1, 2011.

The English translation is for reference only and if there is any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.