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A total of 22,000 people were prosecuted for crimes that violate women’s rights and interests such as rape and molestation and 33,000 or so were prosecuted for crimes against minors during the first half of 2024, said China’s top procuratorate. Minor criminal cases have become the main focus of China’s criminal governance. 

China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate released on Tuesday a series of major half-yearly data on cases related to people’s livelihood of the key population groups such as women, minors, the elderly and the disabled which were dealt with during a nationwide campaign  launched in February this year. 

According to an official from the top procuratorate, the procuratorial organs nationwide accepted and prosecuted 1.09 million criminals of various crimes during the first half of 2024, 1.2 times the figure of the same period in 2004. 

During the period, the procuratorial organs nationwide prosecuted 22,000 people for crimes infringing on women’s rights, such as rape and molestation, an increase of 14 percent year-on-year. 

Moreover, the procuratorial departments filed and handled more than 900 public interest litigation cases in terms of protection of women’s rights, and distributed more than 70 million yuan ($9.8 million) in judicial aid to over 8,000 women in need. 

The procuratorial authorities also punished crimes against minors in accordance with laws and provided comprehensive assistance to the victims. Approximately 33,000 people were prosecuted for crimes against minors during the first half of this year, up 19.7 percent year-on-year. 

Besides, the procuratorial authorities filed and handled more than 6,300 public interest litigation cases involving minors and issued orders to urge 16,000 guardians to improve guardianship on minors. 

The procuratorial authorities also took active actions to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the elderly by prosecuting 18,000 cases of crimes, a year-on-year increase of 7.5 percent, and handled over 600 public interest litigation cases involving the protection of the rights of the elderly. 

Besides, more than 1,400 cases of crimes against the disabled were prosecuted. Besides, the procuratorial organs also filed and handled more than 2,100 public interest cases in terms of barrier-free environment construction such as the lack or poor management of tactile pavements in public places. 

According to the official, the procuratorial organs prosecuted more than 570 people for the crime of refusing to pay labor remuneration and helped migrant workers recover over 70 million yuan in unpaid wages. 

In addition, more than 4,900 people were prosecuted for the crime of endangering food and drug safety and over 28,000 people were prosecuted for crimes of telecom fraud and infringement upon citizens’ personal information. The procuratorial organs also prosecuted 12,000 people for financial crimes, up 7.6 percent year-on-year. 

The top procuratorate also noted that despite the increased number of prosecutions in the first half of 2024, minor criminal cases accounted for a higher proportion in the first half of 2024. 

Among the cases adjudicated during the first half of this year, minor offenses of not being prosecuted or resulting in sentences of three years or less accounted for 85 percent of the total, with the proportion up by more than 30 percentage points from that in 2004. 

In contrast, the number of prosecutions against criminals with severe violent crimes such as intentional homicide, robbery and rape decreased by 62.5 percent compared with the number in the same period of 2004. The proportion of prosecutions against criminals with severe violent crimes among all the prosecutions dropped to 3.7 percent in the first half of this year from 20.3 percent in the same period of 2004. 

Global Times