Deacons
  August 29, 2005 - Hong Kong

China: Amendments to the Criminal Law

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress passed Amendment (5) to the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (the "Amendment") on 28 February 2005. The Amendment was promulgated by President Hu Jintao and became effective on the same date. The Amendment introduces detailed penal provisions on credit card abuse and fraud and on damaging military equipment. We discuss the new sections regarding credit card abuse and fraud below. Interference with credit card administration Under the Amendment, anyone who commits any of the following five acts will be liable to a fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, or criminal detention and/or a fine of between RMB 10,000 to 100,000. If the amount is very large or there are other aggravating circumstances, the person will be liable to a fixed-term imprisonment of between three and 10 years and a fine of between RMB 20,000 to 200,000. The criminal acts thus penalised are: • to knowingly hold or transport a large quantity of fake or blank credit cards; • to illegally hold a large quantity of credit cards of others; • to use fake identification documents to obtain a credit card; • to sell, buy or provide to others fake credit cards or credit cards obtained with fake identification documents; and • to steal, buy or illegally supply credit card data of someone else. If the aforementioned acts are committed by staff of a bank or financial institution, they will be subject to a severer punishment. Credit card fraud The Amendment provides that anyone who commits any of the following four acts of credit card fraud involving a relatively large amount will be liable to a fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and a fine of between RMB 20,000 to 200,000. If the amount is very large or there are other aggravating circumstances, the person will be liable to a fixed-term imprisonment of between five and 10 years and a fine of between RMB 50,000 to 500,000. If the amount is exceptionally large or there are other exceptionally aggravating circumstances, the person will be liable to a fixed-term imprisonment of more than 10 years or life imprisonment plus a fine of between RMB 50,000 to 500,000 or confiscation of property. The criminal acts thus penalised are: • to use a fake credit card or to use a credit card obtained with fake identification documents; • to use an invalidated credit card; • to deceptively use someone else’s credit card; and • to maliciously overdraw a credit card.