Article 246 Whoever, by violence or other methods, publicly humiliates another person or invent stories to defame him, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance or deprivation of political rights.

The crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be handled only upon complaint, except where serious harm is done to public order or to the interests of the State.

Article 247 Any judicial officer who extorts confession from a criminal suspect or defendant by torture or extorts testimony from a witness by violence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention. If he causes injury, disability or death to the victim, he shall be convicted and given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions of Article 234 or 232 of this Law.

Article 248 Any policeman or other officer of an institution of confinement like a prison, a detention house or a custody house who beats a prisoner or maltreats him by subjecting him to corporal punishment, if the circumstances are serious shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention; if the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years. If he causes injury, disability or death to the victim, he shall be convicted and given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions of Article 234 or 232 of this Law.

Any policeman or other officer who instigates a person held in custody to beat or maltreat another person held in custody by subjecting him to corporal punishment , the policeman or officer shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 249 Whoever incites national enmity or discrimination, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance or deprivation of political rights; if the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years.

Article 250 Where a publication carries an article designed to discriminate or humiliate an ethnic group, if the circumstances are flagrant and the consequences are serious, the persons who are directly responsible for the offence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance.

Article 251 Any functionary of a State organ who unlawfully deprives a citizen of his or her freedom of religious belief or infringes upon the customs and habits of an ethnic group, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.

Article 252 Whoever conceals, destroys or unlawfully opens another person's letter, thereby infringing upon the citizen's right to freedom of correspondence, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year or criminal detention.

Article 253 Any postal worker who opens without authorization or conceals or destroys mail or telegrams shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.

Whoever steals money or property by committing the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be convicted and given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions of Article 264 of this Law.

Article 254 Any functionary of a State organ who, abusing his power or using his public office for private ends, retaliates against or frames up complainants, petitioners, critics or persons who report against him shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention; if the circumstances are serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than seven years.

Article 255 Any leading member of a company, enterprise, institution, State organ or people's organization who retaliates against the accountants or statisticians who perform their functions and duties according to law and resist any acts violating the Accounting Law or the Statistics Law, if the circumstances are flagrant, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention.

Article 256 Whoever, in election of the deputies to the people's congresses and the leading members of State organs at various levels, disrupts election or obstructs the electorate and deputies from freely exercising their right to vote and to stand for election by such means as violence, threat, deception, bribery, falsification of electoral documents or false report of ballots, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or deprivation of political rights.

Article 257 Whoever uses violence to interfere with another person's freedom of marriage shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.

Whoever commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph and causes death to the victim shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than seven years.

The crime mentioned in the first paragraph of this Article shall be handled only upon complaint.

Article 258 Whoever has a spouse and commits bigamy or knowingly marries a person who has a spouse shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.

Article 259 Whoever knowingly cohabits with or marries a person who is the spouse of an active serviceman shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention.

Whoever, by taking advantage of his functions and powers or the subordinate relationship, have sexual intercourse with the wife of an active serviceman by means of coercion shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 236 of this Law.

Article 260 Whoever maltreats a member of his family, if the circumstances are flagrant, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years, criminal detention or public surveillance.

Whoever commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph and causes serious injury or death to the victim shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than seven years.

The crime mentioned in the first paragraph of this Article shall be handled only upon complaint.

Article 261 Whoever refuses to fulfill his duty to support an aged person, minor, sick person or any other person who cannot live independently, if the circumstances are flagrant, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention or public surveillance.

Article 262 Whoever abducts a minor under the age of 14, thereby separating the child from his family or guardian, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention.

Chapter V Crimes of Property Violation

Article 263 Whoever robs public or private property by violence, coercion or other methods shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined; whoever falls under any of the following categories shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, life imprisonment or death and shall also be fined or sentenced to confiscation of property:

(1) intruding into another person's residence to rob;

(2) robbing on board the means of public transportation;

(3) robbing a bank or any other banking institution;

(4) committing robbery repeatedly or robbing a huge, sum of money;

(5) causing serious injury or death to another person in the course of robbery;

(6) impersonating a serviceman or policeman in robbing;

(7) robbing with a gun; or

(8) robbing military materials or the materials for emergency rescue, disaster relief or social relief.