China's top legislature to review draft amendment to Criminal Law targeting bribers

BEIJING, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- A draft amendment to China's Criminal Law, which is expected to toughen criminal penalties on bribers and corruption inside private firms, will be submitted for a second reading by national lawmakers at the upcoming top legislature session in late December, a spokesperson said Friday.

The amendment makes it clear that criminal accountability should be stepped up for bribers in some serious bribery cases, said Zang Tiewei, a spokesperson for the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee.

The revision raises the penalty levels on bribers that are institutions and those offering bribes to institutions, Zang noted.

The amendment to the Criminal Law underwent its first reading at the top legislature in July.

The revised provisions after the first reading have further refined the circumstances of heavier penalties for bribers, according to Zang.

The Standing Committee of the 14th NPC will hold its seventh session in Beijing from Dec. 25 to 29.