Harsher punishment will be meted out against organizations identified as cults, as well as to those found guilty of committing cult-related crimes in China, as shown in the draft of the Criminal Law amendment presented for review on Monday.

The amendment recommends three to seven years of imprisonment plus fines to any person found guilty of organizing or using a religious group or cult organization to destabilize national laws or policies. Those spreading superstitions with the same influence will be punished as well.

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Should the circumstances surrounding the aforementioned crimes be determined as serious, such as if such acts caused the death or severe injury of other people or sparked a mass incident, the offenders will be penalized to suffer seven years of imprisonment to death.

"If the revised law comes into force, it will provide a formal legal basis for judicial organs to prosecute and handle cult-related crimes," stated Director Li Shishi of the NPC Standing Committee's Legal Affairs Commission.

Dai Peng, the director of the Criminal Investigation Department at the People's Public Security University of China, described the nature of such cult groups as "inhuman, anti-social, and unconstitutional."

"It's not religion but heterodoxy," Dai said.

Citing the repeated inclusion of violent crimes, which involve kidnapping, money fraud, sexual abuse murder, and robbery, in cult-related activities, Dai pointed out that the amendment will be able to ease the anxiety and fear felt by the public in relation to the occurrence of cult-related incidents. The amendment to strengthen the policies and laws on such crimes "will relieve people's concerns and is conducive to improving their sense of safety."

The first reading of the said amendment was conducted during the bimonthly session held by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

To date, China does not have an exclusive law pertaining to cult groups. In addition, the country has no specific and clear-cut definition of cult-related crimes. No sentencing standards could also be found in accordance with the circumstances surrounding such incidents. 

Tagscult, crime, Murder, Robbery, Kidnapping, Assault, Abuse, Li Shishi, Criminal Law, Dai Peng