Courts handle more telecom, fraud cases

Chinese courts concluded about 40,000 cases of telecom and online fraud last year, an increase of 26.7 percent year-on-year, according to an annual work report.

The report of the Supreme People's Court was submitted to the ongoing third session of the 14th National People's Congress, China's top legislature, on Saturday for review.

Courts across the country last year also intensified efforts to fight cross-border fraud crimes involving northern Myanmar, the report added.

In 2024, Chinese prosecutors also intensified their efforts against telecom fraud. According to the annual work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the country's top procuratorate, 78,000 individuals were prosecuted, marking a 53.9 percent increase compared to the previous year.

The report also disclosed that 39 members of various telecom fraud criminal organizations operating in northern Myanmar were prosecuted in Zhejiang province under the supervision of the SPP.

In the annual report of top court, it also noted that Chinese courts strengthened the fight against those who severely disrupted social order last year, with harsh punishments for criminals with profound malicious intent and who challenged the bottom line of law and morality.

In one case, Fan Weiqiu, a man who killed 35 people and injured 43 others by ramming into a crowd at a stadium in Zhuhai, Guangdong province, was sentenced to death in December for using dangerous means to harm public security.

Xu Jiajin, who killed eight people and injured 17 others on a campus in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, was also sentenced to death for intentional killing.

The judicial crackdown on corruption also continues – Chinese courts last year concluded about 30,000 duty-related criminal cases. Among them, in soccer sector, the courts convicted and sentenced several former officials, including Du Zhaocai, Chen Xuyuan and Li Tie, according to the report.