Amendment V to the Criminal Law

Amendment V to the Criminal Law was adopted at the 14th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on February 28, 2005.

Highlights:

1. Punishment on illegal use of credit cards: anyone who knowingly holds or transports counterfeited credit cards, or unlawfully holds others' credit cards, or obtains credit cards by using false identity certification, shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of no more than 3 years and shall be subject to a fine of no less than 10,000 yuan but no more than 100,000 yuan, or shall only be fined.

2. Whoever sabotages weapons or equipment, military installations or military telecommunications shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of no more than 3 years or criminal detention or public surveillance; and, if the circumstances are especially serious, shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Amendment VI to the Criminal Law

Amendment VI to the Criminal Law was adopted at the 22nd Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on June 29, 2006.

Highlights:

1. Where anyone violates provisions concerning safety management in production or operations and thus causes any serious casualty or any other serious consequences, he shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of no more than three years or detention.

2. Where any company or enterprise which is obliged to disclose information to its shareholders or the general public provides any false financial and accounting statements or conceals any important facts in such statements or fails to disclose any other important information required by law to be disclosed so that the interests of the shareholders or any other person are severely injured, or where there are other severe circumstances, the persons-in-charge who are held to be directly responsible and other directly liable persons shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of no more than 3 years or detention, and/or shall be fined 20,000 yuan up to 200,000 yuan.

3. Any employee of any company or enterprise or any other entity who acquires any property by taking advantage of his position or accepts any money or property of any other person so as to provide or seek any benefit for such person, if the amount is considerably large, shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of no more than 5 years or detention.

4. Any employee of any bank or any other financial institution who violates the relevant provisions of the state by granting any loan and the sum is significant or any serious loss results shall be sentenced to a fixed-term imprisonment of no more than 5 years or detention, and shall be fined 10,000 yuan up to 100,000 yuan.