BEIJING -- China took resolute actions against severe violent crimes last year, according to a work report of the top court submitted Saturday to the annual session of the national legislature for deliberation.

In 2024, Chinese courts concluded 49,000 related cases, such as intentional homicide, down 5.8 percent from the previous year, said the report of the Supreme People's Court. The number was down 28.7 percent from 10 years ago.

Chinese courts also took strict and prompt measures in accordance with laws when dealing with those who committed heinous crimes challenging the bottom line of laws and moral standards, said the report.

Last year, two mass murderers -- Fan Weiqiu, convicted of causing heavy casualties after intentionally plowing his car into a crowd at a sports center in south China's Guangdong Province, and Xu Jiajin, convicted of killing eight people and injuring 17 in a knife attack at a vocational school in east China's Jiangsu Province -- were sentenced to death, according to the report.

It added that the punishments have deterred criminal offenders and protected people.