Tougher punishment coming for promoters of fake websites

Anyone who launches a website in the guise of a government department or financial institution to commit offenses such as fraud or selling prohibited goods will face tougher punishment, according to the top court.

Such people have committed the crime of illegally using the internet, and the criminal charge should be considered "serious", meaning offenders could face up to three years in prison, according to a judicial interpretation issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Friday.

The interpretation, which takes effect on Nov 1, also stipulates that anyone setting up three or more common websites, or using five or more instant messaging groups, including WeChat, to commit offenses will also be convicted of this crime.

"The interpretation is to help judicial authorities intensify the fight against online crimes and more effectively safeguard cybersecurity," said Jiang Qibo, director of the top court's research office.

As the country has witnessed quick development of the internet in recent years, its security and social order have been harmed or disturbed by improper use of cyberspace.

To alleviate the problem, it added three internet-related crimes, including the illegal use of the internet, when amending the Criminal Law in 2014. The amended law became effective in November 2015.

Since then, courts nationwide have sentenced 473 people for internet-related crimes, of whom 223 were punished for the crime of illegal application of the internet, according to data released by the top court on Friday.

For instance, Huang Jieming, from Jiangsu province, was sentenced to eight months in prison and fined 10,000 yuan ($1,400) after he was found posting pictures, videos and information about prohibited knives for sale through WeChat, from July 2017 to this February.

"Tightened law enforcement has been protecting the state security and keeping order in society, but some courts are still faced with problems in the application of law and sentencing defendants," Jiang said.

"To ensure the law can be accurately applied, we made this interpretation, hoping that judges can better solve internet-related crimes in practice to further provide the sense of security for the people," he added.

Xian Jie, deputy head of the SPP's law and policy research department, said prosecutors across the country have paid a lot of attention to fighting online crimes in the past few years, such as those using the internet for terrorism, blackmail, swindling, spreading pornography, producing drugs or stealing personal information.

Since the law took effect, 634 people have been charged with the three new internet-related crimes, according to her.

In a crackdown launched by police from the beginning of this year, public security departments have broken 40,737 internet-related cases and caught 55,823 suspects, said Zhang Hongye, deputy director of cybersecurity bureau with the Ministry of Public Security.

"We'll intensify efforts to combat online offenses, especially those committing crimes by opening websites, developing software or offering online payment services," he added.