China sees drop in criminal cases in H1

BEIJING -- The first half of 2020 saw a decline in the number of criminal cases across China amid the COVID-19 epidemic, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on July 21.

Procuratorates across the country approved or initiated the arrest of 280,333 suspects between January and June, down 47.1 percent from the same period last year, according to data released by the SPP.

The number of suspects prosecuted in the first six months dropped by 15.9 percent year on year to 673,310, the data showed.

The data also indicated a rise in telecom fraud cases during the same period.

A total of 52,473 telecom fraud suspects were prosecuted from January to June, accounting for 7.8 percent of all suspects prosecuted over the period, up 3.7 percentage points year on year.

Procuratorial organs nationwide have maintained a tough stance against epidemic-related crimes, vowing swift responses with strict punishments, said Dong Guiwen, an official with the SPP.

In the first half of this year, procuratorates approved the arrest of 13 people and prosecuted 80 for impairing infectious disease prevention and treatment, according to the SPP.

A total of 7,822 suspects were arrested for endangering financial security between January and June, and 19,834 people were prosecuted across the country for crimes related to endangering financial security, according to the data.

Meanwhile, legal awareness campaigns in China covered a larger proportion of minors, according to the SPP, noting that more than 20.97 million people attended 25,130 lectures delivered to improve legal awareness among minors.

The surge in attendees can be attributed to the wider use of the Internet in campaigns targeting minors amid the COVID-19 epidemic, said Dong.

Procuratorates across the country also adhered to the principle of combining punishment with leniency when handling criminal cases involving minors, Dong noted, adding that 4,352 underage suspects in criminal cases were granted leniency without being arrested over the period.

From January to June, Chinese procuratorial organs handled 61,024 public interest lawsuits, marking a 2.6 percent year-on-year decrease, according to the data.

The procuratorial organs restored about 4,653 hectares of damaged forest land, wetland, grassland, and water areas, among others, and confiscated 25,000 kilograms of fake and inferior food by investigating public interest lawsuits over the period, the data showed.