Procuratorates working to better protect minors

Procuratorates nationwide have been continuously working to improve judicial protection for minors, to rescue juveniles involved in crimes and to strictly punish those who commit crimes against minors, according to a report.

Procurator-general Zhang Jun delivered the report to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, for deliberation on Friday.

Procurators insist on using education and rescue methods when handling juvenile delinquents, and they make full use of the special prevention and correction function of conditional non-prosecution for youth involved in minor cases, Zhang said.

From 2018 to September this year, 63,000 people were exempted from prosecution with conditions, 169,000 juvenile delinquents were prosecuted, and 1,877 were prosecuted due to violating regulations and refusing to repent during the probation period of conditional non-prosecution.

Through customized conditions and whole-course supervision and investigation, the effectiveness of precise help and education has been improved. More than 97 percent of non-prosecuted juvenile delinquents are on the right path, the report said.

"Special protection and leniency for juvenile delinquents in accordance with the law are not indulgent," Zhang explained.

"Juveniles who commit crimes with deep subjective malignancy, cruel means and serious consequences will be resolutely punished," he said, adding that such efforts serve to educate society and act as a deterrent to would-be criminals.

Zhang said procuratorial organs have also shown zero tolerance for crimes against minors and suggest heavy punishment for such offenders. In the process of handling cases, the judicial concepts and case handling rules are constantly being improved, including those in which minors are forced to participate in organized crimes, school violence and sexual assault, he said.

From 2018 to September this year, 47,000 adults involved in crimes against minors were sentenced to more than three years in prison in the first instance, accounting for 42 percent of all people prosecuted in such crimes, said the report.

It added that crimes committed by and against minors are both on the rise, and it urges all aspects of society to better protect them.