Beijing judicial authorities raise public awareness to combat smuggling

Judges from Beijing No 4 Intermediate People's Court have provided strong law education in communities, enterprises and schools over the past few years to help the public further understand the dangers and legal responsibilities of smuggling goods.

"The crime of smuggling goods seriously disrupts the customs supervision and market trading order, leading to the loss of national tax revenue," Wang Jing, vice-president of the court, told a news conference on Wednesday.

"Some of the smuggled goods may also cause secondary risks such as food safety and virus transmission due to the lack of relevant inspection or quarantine procedures during the entry process," he said, adding that is why the fight against such crime and providing law education on the issue for the public are essential tasks.

Considering that the types and approaches of smuggling goods have changed in recent years, it has become more necessary to introduce relevant legal risks to more people, so as to help enhance their legal awareness in a timely manner, according to him.

"For example, we've organized judicial lectures in private enterprises, with issuance of brochures for employees, in order to regulate their foreign trade practices and prevent smuggling risks from the source," he said.

"We've also established a long-term work system with customs and other government departments to jointly carry out early warnings, prevention and control of the smuggling risk, forming a strong synergy to combat and prevent the smuggling-related offenses," he added.

Data released by the court on Wednesday showed that it concluded 112 cases of smuggling ordinary goods from Jan 1, 2015 to June 30 this year, witnessing a clear upward in the number since 2022.

Among a total of 183 defendants, 114 were given prison terms, it said, adding that the rest were given suspended sentences.

It revealed that the smuggled goods have increasingly diversified, not only covering traditional luxuries, tobaccos, alcohol and electronic products, but also expanding to seafood, condiments, medical equipment and collectibles.

Most criminally were found to have falsely reported the names, qualities and prices of goods to the customs at the time of import, in order to evade the customs supervision and tax payment, it added.