China urges severe penalty in certain non-severe injury cases

BEIJING, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) of China has urged severe punishment for suspects involved in cases that inflict non-severe injuries on minors, the elderly, pregnant women, disabled people and medical personnel.

Suspects in non-severe injury cases who are involved with criminal gangs, hire someone else to inflict harm, or hurt multiple individuals or others on multiple occasions, should also receive severe punishment in accordance with the law, said a guideline jointly released by the SPP and the Ministry of Public Security on non-severe injury cases.

According to the document, cases that involve particularly vile intentions and flagrant circumstances and seriously affect the people's sense of security, should be handled with firmer hands.

Chinese procuratorates handled over 70,000 cases involving non-severe injuries in 2022, most of which were triggered by disputes among married couples, family members and neighbors.

According to the country's Criminal Law, whoever intentionally inflicts a non-severe injury upon another person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance.

In China, bodily injuries are classified as severe injuries, minor injuries and slight injuries.