Medic-related crimes amid outbreak to be strictly fought

Seven crimes relating to medical workers during the prevention and control of novel coronavirus-caused pneumonia outbreak will be strictly combated in accordance with a document on Feb 8.

The document jointly released by four authorities -- the National Health Commission, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security -- aims to protect the safety of medical workers and keep the medical environment in order during the epidemic period.

It lists seven situations in which offenders should be harshly fought during the epidemic period, such as those who assault, intentionally kill or intentionally injure medical workers, or people who restrict the personal freedom of medical staff members by means of threat or violence.

Meanwhile, there must be a crackdown on those whose behaviors may cause the infection of medical workers, including tearing their protective equipment or spitting on them, it said.

Also, people who refuse to receive medical tests, quarantine, medical treatment from medical and health institutes by means of violence or threat, or interfere with the institutes in dealing with patients’ bodies, will be toughly fought, it said.

In addition, those violently taking away, intentionally destroying or occupying properties of medical and health institutes, or disturbing the public order and the outbreak prevention and control by improperly parking bodies or privately setting up mourning halls, should be strictly combated, it added.

The document orders health and medical institutes to take urgent measures and timely report to the police when encountering the seven situations, and demands public security departments to give a quick response to deal with the reports and collect evidence in a regulated manner if filing a case.

Prosecutors are ordered to approve an arrest and initiate a prosecution as quickly as they can if behaviors in the situations may constitute a crime, and courts should give harsher punishments to those whose offenses are cruel or bring a great negative effect to the public, it added.