Criminal Law

Date:    Adopted at the Second Session of the Fifth National People's Congress on July 1, 1979, Revised at the Fifth Session of the Eighth National People's Congress on March 14, 1997

Source:    The Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China

Subject:    crimes, citizens' right of the person, democratic rights

Chapter IV. Crimes of Infringing upon Citizens' Right of the Person and Democratic Rights

Article 232.    Whoever intentionally commits homicide shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years; if the circumstances are relatively minor, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years.

Article 233.    Whoever negligently causes death to another person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years; if the circumstances are relatively minor, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Law.

Article 234.    Whoever intentionally inflicts injury upon another person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance.

Whoever commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph, thus causing severe injury to another person, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years; if he causes death to the person or, by resorting to especially cruel means, causes severe injury to the person, reducing the person to utter disability, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, life imprisonment or death, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Law.

Article 235.    Whoever negligently injures another person and causes severe injury to the person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention, except as otherwise specifically provided in this Law.

Article 236.    Whoever rapes a woman by violence, coercion or any other means shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years.

Whoever has sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 shall be deemed to have committed rape and shall be given a heavier punishment.

Whoever rapes a woman or has sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 shall, in any of the following circumstances, be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, life imprisonment or death:

(1) the circumstances being flagrant;

(2) raping a number of women or girls under the age of 14;

(3) raping a woman before the public in a public place;

(4) raping a woman with one or more persons in succession; or

(5) causing serious injury or death to the victim or any other serious consequences.

Article 237.    Whoever acts indecently against or insults a woman by violence, coercion or any other forcible means shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention.

Whoever gathers a number of people to commit the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph or commits the crime before the public in a public place shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years.

Whoever acts indecently against a child shall be given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs.

Article 238.    Whoever unlawfully detains another person or unlawfully deprives the personal freedom of another person by any other means shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance or deprivation of political rights. If he resorts to battery or humiliation, he shall be given a heavier punishment.

Whoever commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph and causes serious injury to the victim shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years; if he causes death to the victim, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years. If he causes injury, disability or death to the victim by violence, he shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 234 or 232 of this Law.

Whoever unlawfully detains or confines another person in order to get payment of a debt shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs.

Where a functionary of a State organ commits any of the crimes mentioned in the preceding three paragraphs by taking advantage of his functions and powers, he shall be given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions in the preceding three paragraphs correspondingly.

Article 239.    Whoever kidnaps another person for the purpose of extorting money or property or kidnaps another person as a hostage shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment and also to a fine or confiscation of property; if he causes death to the kidnapped person or kills the kidnapped person, he shall be sentenced to death and also to confiscation of property.

Whoever steals a baby or an infant for the purpose of extorting money or property shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 240.    Whoever abducts and traffics in a woman or child shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years and shall also be fined; if he falls under any of the following categories, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment and shall also be fined or sentenced to confiscation of property; if the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to death and also to confiscation of property:

(1) being a ringleader of a gang engaged in abducting and trafficking in women and children;

(2) abducting and trafficking in three or more women and/or children;

(3) raping the woman who is abducted and trafficked in;

(4) enticing or forcing the woman who is abducted and trafficked in to engage in prostitution, or selling such woman to any other person who would force her to engage in prostitution;

(5) kidnapping a woman or child by means of violence, coercion or anesthesia for the purpose of selling the victim;

(6) stealing a baby or an infant for the purpose of selling the victim;

(7) causing serious injury or death to the woman or child who is abducted and trafficked in or to her or his relatives or any other serious consequences; or

(8) selling a woman or a child out of the territory of China.

By abducting and trafficking in a woman or child is meant any of the following acts: abducting, kidnapping, buying, trafficking in, fetching, sending, or transferring a woman or child, for the purpose of selling the victim.

Article 241.    Whoever buys an abducted woman or child shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance.

Whoever buys an abducted woman and forces her to have sexual intercourse with him shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 236 of this Law.

Whoever buys an abducted woman or child and illegally deprives the victim of his or her personal freedom or restricts his or her personal freedom, or commits any criminal acts such as harming and humiliating the victim, shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Law.

Whoever buys an abducted woman or child and commits the criminal act as specified in the second or third paragraph of this Article shall be punished in accordance with the provisions on combined punishment for several crimes.

Whoever buys an abducted woman or child and sells the victim afterwards shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 240 of this Law.

Whoever buys an abducted woman or child but does not obstruct the woman from returning to her original place of residence as she wishes or does not maltreat the child nor obstruct his or her rescue may be exempted from being investigated for criminal responsibility.

Article 242.    Whoever, through violence or threat, obstructs functionaries of a State organ from rescuing a sold woman or child shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 277 of this Law.

The major culprit who gathers people to prevent functionaries of a State organ from rescuing a sold woman or child shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention; the other participants who resort to violence or threat shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 243.    Whoever invents stories to implicate another person with the intention of having him investigated for criminal responsibility, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance; if the consequences are serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years.

Any functionary of a State organ who commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be given a heavier punishment.

The provisions of the preceding two paragraphs shall not be applicable to cases of unintentional false charge, mistaken complaint or unfounded accusation.

Article 244.    Where an employer, in violation of the laws and regulations on labour administration, compels its employees to work by restricting their personal freedom, if the circumstances are serious, the persons who are directly responsible for the offence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention and shall also, or shall only, be fined.

Article 245.    Whoever unlawfully subjects another person to a body search or a search of his residence or unlawfully intrudes into another person's residence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention.

Any judicial officer who abuses his power and commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be given a heavier punishment.

Article 246.    Whoever, by violence or other methods, publicly humiliates another person or invent stories to defame him, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance or deprivation of political rights.

The crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be handled only upon complaint, except where serious harm is done to public order or to the interests of the State.

Article 247.    Any judicial officer who extorts confession from a criminal suspect or defendant by torture or extorts testimony from a witness by violence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention. If he causes injury, disability or death to the victim, he shall be convicted and given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions of Article 234 or 232 of this Law.

Article 248.    Any policeman or other officer of an institution of confinement like a prison, a detention house or a custody house who beats a prisoner or maltreats him by subjecting him to corporal punishment, if the circumstances are serious shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention; if the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years. If he causes injury, disability or death to the victim, he shall be convicted and given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions of Article 234 or 232 of this Law.

Any policeman or other officer who instigates a person held in custody to beat or maltreat another person held in custody by subjecting him to corporal punishment, the policeman or officer shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 249.    Whoever incites national enmity or discrimination, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance or deprivation of political rights; if the circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years.

Article 250.    Where a publication carries an article designed to discriminate or humiliate an ethnic group, if the circumstances are flagrant and the consequences are serious, the persons who are directly responsible for the offence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance.

Article 251.    Any functionary of a State organ who unlawfully deprives a citizen of his or her freedom of religious belief or infringes upon the customs and habits of an ethnic group, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.

Article 252.    Whoever conceals, destroys or unlawfully opens another person's letter, thereby infringing upon the citizen's right to freedom of correspondence, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than one year or criminal detention.

Article 253.    Any postal worker who opens without authorization or conceals or destroys mail or telegrams shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.

Whoever steals money or property by committing the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be convicted and given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions of Article 264 of this Law.

Article 254.    Any functionary of a State organ who, abusing his power or using his public office for private ends, retaliates against or frames up complainants, petitioners, critics or persons who report against him shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention; if the circumstances are serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than seven years.

Article 255.    Any leading member of a company, enterprise, institution, State organ or people's organization who retaliates against the accountants or statisticians who perform their functions and duties according to law and resist any acts violating the Accounting Law or the Statistics Law, if the circumstances are flagrant, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention.

Article 256.    Whoever, in election of the deputies to the people's congresses and the leading members of State organs at various levels, disrupts election or obstructs the electorate and deputies from freely exercising their right to vote and to stand for election by such means as violence, threat, deception, bribery, falsification of electoral documents or false report of ballots, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or deprivation of political rights.

Article 257.    Whoever uses violence to interfere with another person's freedom of marriage shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.

Whoever commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph and causes death to the victim shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than seven years.

The crime mentioned in the first paragraph of this Article shall be handled only upon complaint.

Article 258.    Whoever has a spouse and commits bigamy or knowingly marries a person who has a spouse shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years or criminal detention.

Article 259.    Whoever knowingly cohabits with or marries a person who is the spouse of an active serviceman shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention.

Whoever, by taking advantage of his functions and powers or the subordinate relationship, have sexual intercourse with the wife of an active serviceman by means of coercion shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 236 of this Law.

Article 260.    Whoever maltreats a member of his family, if the circumstances are flagrant, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years, criminal detention or public surveillance.

Whoever commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph and causes serious injury or death to the victim shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than seven years.

The crime mentioned in the first paragraph of this Article shall be handled only upon complaint.

Article 261.    Whoever refuses to fulfill his duty to support an aged person, minor, sick person or any other person who cannot live independently, if the circumstances are flagrant, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention or public surveillance.

Article 262.    Whoever abducts a minor under the age of 14, thereby separating the child from his family or guardian, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention.