BEIJING,
China, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lawmakers are mulling over lowering the
minimum age at which a minor can be convicted to 12, in individual cases under
specific circumstances.
The proposal was made in a
draft amendment to the Criminal Law, which was submitted Tuesday to the ongoing
session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's
top legislature.
If a juvenile who has reached
the age of 12, but is under 14, commits intentional homicide or inflicts an
injury that leads to death under flagrant circumstances, he or she shall bear
criminal responsibility upon attestation and approval of the Supreme People's
Procuratorate (SPP), according to the draft.
Currently, minors under the
age of 14 do not bear any criminal responsibility in China. However, some
high-profile cases involving violent crimes committed by underage youths in
recent years have sparked a heated debate on the minimum age of criminal
liability.
Besides, statistics from the
country's top procuratorate raised concerns over juvenile crimes. China saw a
rebound in juvenile delinquency in recent years, according to a white paper
issued by the SPP.
From 2014 to 2017, the number
of juvenile arrests examined by procuratorial agencies dropped from 56,276 to
42,413, later increasing by 5.87 percent and 7.51 percent in 2018 and 2019,
respectively. The number of juvenile prosecutions increased 5.12 percent year
on year in 2019.
The most common juvenile crimes
prosecuted were theft, robbery, intentional assault, affray, creating
disturbances and rape, accounting for about 82.28 percent of the total, the
white paper showed.
The draft amendment also adds
provisions aimed at strengthening the protection of minors to prevent them from
sexual abuse.
It stipulates that guardians
and those who adopt underage females aged between 14 and 16 shall be
investigated for engaging in criminal sexual activity, regardless of whether
the minors agree or not. Others targeted include those who have special duties
of giving medical treatment to and educating the juveniles.
In cases with flagrant
circumstances, the penalty can be imprisonment of not more than 10 years.
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