The second plenary meeting of the third session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 8, 2025. (Photo: Xinhua)

 
China intensified its crackdown on telecom fraud, corruption, and crimes against minors in 2024 while taking resolute action against severe violent crimes, according to the work reports by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate released on Saturday.

The Supreme People's Court handled 34,898 cases in 2024, concluding 32,539, showing year-on-year increases of 65.5 percent and 82.2 percent, respectively. 

Meanwhile, procuratorial authorities nationwide handled approximately 4.1 million cases, approving the arrest of 753,000 criminal suspects and filing public prosecutions against 1.63 million individuals.

A key highlight was the crackdown on telecom fraud, with 78,000 people prosecuted - a 53.9 percent increase from the previous year, said the work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. In one case mentioned in the report, the top procuratorate said it gave instructions to Zhejiang prosecutors on a case involving 39 members of Myanmar-based criminal groups targeting Chinese nationals.

Last year, courts nationwide concluded 40,000 telecom fraud cases, up 26.7 percent year on year, said the work report of the Supreme People's Court. The cases involved 82,000 people.

The ongoing anti-corruption campaign remained a major focus of judicial efforts in 2024. A total of 30,000 cases of duty-related crimes, such as bribery and embezzlement, were concluded by courts nationwide in 2024, up 22.3 percent from the previous year, according to the Supreme People's Court report.

Forty-eight senior officials, including former Guizhou Party Chief Sun Zhigang, faced legal penalties, while the death sentence for Li Jianping, a former Inner Mongolia official, was approved. 

The report also highlighted corruption cases involving senior sports officials, including former national football coach Li Tie, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

The top court said it also took resolute actions against severe violent crimes last year, particularly mentioning two mass murderers - Fan Weiqiu, convicted of causing heavy casualties after intentionally plowing his car into a crowd at a sports center in South China's Guangdong Province, and Xu Jiajin, convicted of killing eight people and injuring 17 in a knife attack at a vocational school in East China's Jiangsu Province. The two were sentenced to death, according to the report.

As for crimes against minors, China's top court concluded a total of some 40,000 cases. 

Yu Huaying, convicted of abducting and trafficking 17 children, along with criminals involved in child rape, was sentenced to death in accordance with the law.

Efforts to curb juvenile delinquency included sentencing the main perpetrator of a student murder case in Handan, Hebei Province, to life imprisonment - the highest penalty legally permitted.

Additionally, China's courts have strengthened oversight of illicit law enforcement practices to better protect businesses and entrepreneurs. China's credit blacklist saw its first decline in a decade, with 2.46 million new defaulters added in 2024 - a 23.4 percent drop from the previous year.

Wang Lianzeng, an NPC deputy from Hebei Province, told the Global Times on Saturday that as a private entrepreneur who came from a rural background and now runs a business, he is looking forward to the subsequent legislative works of this year. "I believe legislative and judicial measures will further improve the business environment and support private sector growth," Wang said.