NPC mulls change to criminal law

Proposal to lower age of liability comes after spate of violent offenses by juveniles

China is expected to lower the age of criminal responsibility in some special situations in a response to serious violent offenses committed by minors in recent years, according to an official of the country's top legislature.

Highlighting the principle of "educating first and punishing second" as a basic policy for juveniles involved in crimes, "we should neither punish minor offenders through simple prison terms nor with indulgence," said Zang Tiewei, spokesman for Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, the top legislative body.

He made the remark at a news conference on Monday, noting a draft amendment to the Criminal Law has proposed lowering the age restriction in a few special circumstances and after special procedures.

But he did not detail what the new age would be or what situations should be defined as "special" in the legal document.

The age of criminal responsibility under the law is currently 16, and people between the ages of 14 and 16 will be held criminally liable only if they commit serious violent offenses, including intentional homicide, rape, robbery and arson. Minors who have not committed these crimes will not shoulder criminal liability.

Additionally, those under the age of 14 who commit crimes can be exempt from criminal punishments in line with the law.

According to Zang, the draft will be submitted for second review to the bimonthly session of the NPC Standing Committee, which is scheduled to convene from Tuesday to Saturday. In general, a draft will become law after being read at least three times.

He said lawmakers and the public have reached an agreement on fighting juvenile crimes through strict rehabilitation, "as several serious violent offenses committed by very young people shocked the nation in the past few years."

In 2019, for example, a 10-year-old girl was killed by a teenager in Dalian, Liaoning province, but the offender did not receive any criminal punishment because he was 13 when he committed the crime. He is currently undergoing a three-year re-education program in Dalian.

In August, the Dalian Shahekou District People's Court ordered the offender's parents to pay about 1.28 million yuan ($188,000) in compensation to the victim's family, but the girl's mother said she would rather see the offender criminally punished.

In Hunan province, a boy who fatally stabbed his mother with a knife in 2018, when he was 12, was placed under joint guardianship of his family, public security departments and an educational institution instead of facing criminal punishment.

To protect victims' legitimate rights and meet the crime-fighting demands, "we made the age-related change in some special situations after deliberating, and some content about juvenile offenders' rehabilitation has been improved in the draft," Zang said.

The draft has also seen some revisions on other crimes, such as rape and indecency involving minors, and malpractice in drug and food supervision, he said.

Content related to identity theft, another hot issue this year, is also expected to be added and improved in the draft, which had been reviewed by the legislature for the first time in June, he added.