Severe punishment ordered for offenders endangering public safety

People who endanger the safety of others face harsher punishments under a guideline issued by the Supreme People's Court on Wednesday.

Chinese courts have been asked to increase punishments for those causing harm and better tackle cases relating to serious accidents, aiming to maintain the security of people's lives and property, according to the guideline.

As well as strictly handling cases concerning safety in production facilities, including coalmine accidents and blasts, courts should also punish officials whose graft or dereliction of duty is found to have caused tragedies.

Under the guideline people who damage food and medicine safety or damage the environment and ecology are also targets for the courts.

In the Internet era the judiciary is required to strictly deal with attackers in cyberspace and those making use of the Web to commit crimes, according to the guideline

"Security relates to every resident in the country. Making sure of security in each industry is key to keeping social stability and improving development," said an official from the Supreme People's Court's research department.

Public security, highlighted by President Xi Jinping, should also be paid attention to by judicial bodies, the official said.

"Safety in food, medicine, the environment and the Internet are the big concerns so we need grassroots courts to handle cases relating to these areas as priority, as well as asking them to increase punishments for offenders," said the official.

In addition, people who commit violent crimes, such as terrorists, should be strictly punished in line with laws, in a bid to prevent such offenses becoming rampant.

Please contact the writer at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn.