Criminals convicted of serious corruption charges who have received a two-year suspended death sentence will face life imprisonment after the two years, according to an amendment submitted to the legislature.

Lawmakers debated the proposal and will decide whether to adopt it later.

The proposal aims to 'safeguard judicial fairness' and prevent 'the most corrupt criminals from serving shorter prison terms through commutation,' according to a third draft of an amendment to the Criminal Law filed at the six-day bimonthly session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

The proposal targets officials who illegally seek commutation, parole or non-prison sentences, said Prof Ruan Qilin of the China University of Political Science and Law.