Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China

(npc.gov.cn)      Updated : 2015-12-01

Section 5 Crimes of Impairing Public Health

Article 330 Whoever, in violation of the provisions of the Law on Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, commits any of the following acts and thus causes the spread or a grave danger of the spread of an A Class infectious disease shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention; if the consequences are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years:

(1) failure on the part of a water supply unit to supply drinking water in conformity with the hygienic standards set by the State;

(2) refusal to give disinfection treatment, according to the sanitary requirements raised by the heath and anti-epidemic agencies, to sewage, wastes or feces contaminated with the pathogen of infectious diseases;

(3) approving or conniving at the employment of patients of infectious diseases, pathogen carriers or suspected patients of infectious diseases at jobs, which they are prohibited from taking by the health administration department under the State Council because of the likelihood of causing the spread of infectious diseases; or

(4) refusal to execute the preventive and control measures proposed by the health and anti-epidemic agencies according to the Law on Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases.

Where a unit commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph, it shall be fined, and the persons who are directly in charge and the other persons who are directly responsible for the offence shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

The scope of A Class infectious diseases shall be determined in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases and relevant regulations of the State Council.

Article 331 Any person engaged in the experimentation, storage, carrying or transportation of bacterial strains and virus strains of infectious diseases who, in violation of the relevant provisions of the health administration department under the State Council, causes the spread of the bacterial strains and virus strains of infectious diseases , if the consequences are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention; if the consequences are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years.

Article 332 Whoever, in violation of the provisions on frontier health and quarantine, causes the spread or a grave danger of the spread of a quarantinable infectious disease shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined.

Where a unit commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph, it shall be fined, and the persons who are directly in charge and the other persons who are directly responsible for the offence shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 333 Whoever illegally arranges for another person to sell blood shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years and shall also be fined; whoever compels another person to sell blood by violence or threat shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined.

Whoever commits an act mentioned in the preceding paragraph, thus causing injury to another person, shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 234 of this Law.

Article 334 Whoever unlawfully collects or supplies blood or makes or supplies blood products which do not meet the standards prescribed by the State to such an extent as to harm human health shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and shall also be fined; if serious harm has been caused to human health, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined; if the consequences are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment and shall also be fined or be sentenced to confiscation of property.

Where a department that is approved by the competent department of the State for collecting or supplying blood or making or supplying blood products does not carry out testing as required or violates other operating procedure, thus harming another person's health, it shall be fined, and the persons who are directly in charge and the other persons who are directly responsible for the offence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention.

Article 335 Any medical worker who, grossly neglecting his duty, causes death or severe harm to the health of the person seeking medical service shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention.

Article 336 Whoever, without obtaining the qualification for practising medicine, unlawfully practises medicine, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if severe harm is caused to the health of the person seeking medical service, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined; if death is caused, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years and shall also be fined.

Whoever, without obtaining the qualification for practising medicine, undoes a contraception operation, or performs a false contraception operation or an operation for terminating gestation or for removing intrauterine devices, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if severe harm is caused to the health of the person seeking medical service, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined; if death is caused, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years and shall also be fined.

Article 337 Whoever, in violation of the provisions of the Law on the Entry and Exit Animal and Plant Quarantine, evades animal and plant quarantine and thereby causes a serious animal or plant epidemic shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined.

Where a unit commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph, it shall be fined, and the persons who are directly in charge and the other persons who are directly responsible for the offence shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Section 6 Crimes of Impairing the Protection of Environment and Resources

Article 338 Whoever, in violation of the regulations of the State, discharges, dumps or treats radioactive waste, waste containing pathogen of infectious diseases, toxic substances or other hazardous waste on the land or in the water bodies or the atmosphere, thus causing a major environmental pollution accident which leads to the serious consequences of heavy losses of public or private property or human casualties, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if the consequences are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and shall also be fined.

Article 339 Whoever, in violation of the regulations of the State, has solid waste from abroad dumped, piled up, or treated within the territory of China shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and shall also be fined; if a major environmental pollution accident is caused, which leads to heavy losses of public or private property or serious harm to human health, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined; if the consequences are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years and shall also be fined.

Whoever, without permission of the competent administration department under the State Council, imports solid waste as raw material, thus causing a major environmental pollution accident, which leads to heavy losses of public or private property or serious harm to human health, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and shall also be fined; if the consequences are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined.

Whoever, under the pretext of using it as raw material, imports solid waste that cannot be used as such shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 155 of this Law.

Article 340 Whoever, in violation of the law or regulations on protection of aquatic resources, catches aquatic products in an area or during a season closed to fishing, or uses prohibited fishing gear or methods for the purpose, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance or be fined.

Article 341 Whoever illegally catches or kills precious and endangered species of wildlife under special State protection or illegally purchases, transports or sells such species of wildlife as well as the products thereof shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years and shall also be fined or be sentenced to confiscation of property.

Whoever, in violation of the law or regulations on hunting, hunts wildlife in an area or during a season closed to hunting or uses prohibited hunting gear or methods for the purpose, thus damaging wildlife resources, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or public surveillance or be fined.

Article 342 Whoever, in violation of the law or regulations on land administration, unlawfully occupies cultivated land and uses it for other purposes, if the area involved is relatively large and a large area of such land is damaged, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined.

Article 343 Whoever, in violation of the provisions of the Mineral Resources Law, mines without a mining license, enters and mines in a mining area that is embraced in State plans or a mining area that is of great value to the national economy or another person's mining area, or mines specified minerals of which protective mining is prescribed by the State, if he refuses to stop mining after being ordered to do so, thus damaging the mineral resources, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance and shall also, or shall only, be fined; if severe damage is caused to mineral resources, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years and shall also be fined.

Whoever, in violation of the provisions of the Mineral Resources Law, mines mineral resources in a destructive way, thus causing severe damage to mineral resources, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and shall also be fined.