China prosecutes 926 suspects involved in fraud amid epidemic prevention, control

BEIJING -- As of April 7, procuratorial organs across China have prosecuted 926 suspects from 881 cases related to fraud amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic prevention and control period, Miao Shengming, an official with the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on April 8.

The procuratorial organs have approved the arrest of 1,675 suspects in 1,588 fraud-related cases by Tuesday, Miao said at a press conference in Beijing.

The number of cases with suspects approved for arrest and being indicted cover 58.4 percent and 47.3 percent of the total number of epidemic-related criminal offenses, respectively, the SPP official added.

Up to now, the number of suspects approved for arrest and the epidemic-related cases they are involved in is up fivefold and eightfold, respectively, compared to the prevention period against SARS, according to Miao.

He also noted that cybercrime is a prominent part of the epidemic-related crimes, with the largest number of cases concerning crimes including defrauding, manufacturing or selling fake products and rumormongering.