Crackdown on elder fraud sees thousands arrested

Procuratorial organs across China approved the arrest of 7,594 suspects and initiated public lawsuits against 8,516 people during a six-month campaign fighting fraud targeting elderly people last year, Zhang Xiaojin, head of the fourth procuratorial office of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, said on Saturday.

They also handled 332 public interest litigation cases of fraud targeting the elderly and sent 779 procuratorial suggestions to industrial regulation departments to curb the crime at the source, he said.

In April, 12 central authorities launched the six-month nationwide campaign, requiring severe punishment for such crimes, and popularizing information on combatting fraud.

Zhang said SPP monitored the handling of 10 major fraud cases and issued 13 typical cases to guide prosecutors in case-handling. Provincial procuratorates also supervised the handling of key cases.

Procuratorates worked closely with industry regulators to improve the management, plug loopholes and carry out public interest litigation in the areas of personal information protection, false advertising of health food and protection of pension insurance, he said.

Combating telecom and online fraud and related crimes and promoting comprehensive cyber governance is one of the SPP's key tasks, Zhang added.

Procuratorial organs participated in actions to crack down on telecom fraud, paid close attention to finding clues and penalized activities that support fraud, he said.

From January to November 2022, procuratorates nationwide prosecuted more than 24,000 criminals who used telecommunication networks to commit fraud. More than 114,000 criminals who provided technical support or assistance to fraudsters and more than 68,000 criminals who assisted in transferring stolen money were also officially charged, according to SPP.