Drug crimes decline, but fight continues
With drug crime remaining at a serious level in China, courts have increased their efforts to target offenders at all stages of the narcotics trade over the past five years, according to a top judge.
“We’ve strictly penalized those who transport, produce and purchase drugs, while criminals engaged in drug-related activities over a long time are our major target and are given heavier punishments,” said Ye Xiaoying, chief judge of No 5 Criminal Tribunal at the Supreme People’s Court.
Although the number of reported drug crimes declined last year, Ye said the situation remains serious.
She said those convicted in drug crimes often are sentenced to five years or more in prison, which is classified as a “heavy penalty” under Chinese Criminal Law.
“We also severely punish people who commit offenses such as homicide after taking drugs, because their behavior seriously harms others and public order,” she added.
Between 2012 and 2016, Chinese courts handled 541,342 drug-related cases, of which 534,884 were concluded, according to the top court. In the same period, 543,355 people were punished, of whom over 119,000 were given five years or more in prison. Cases involving drug-related crimes concluded by Chinese courts from 2012 to 2016
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Cases linked to drugs accounted for 10.5 percent of all criminal cases Chinese courts heard last year, compared with just 7.7 percent in 2012, she said.
Contact the writers at caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn