Order of the President of the Peopleâs Republic of China
No. 32
The Amendment V to the Criminal Law of the Peopleâs Republic of China, adopted at the 14th Meeting of the Standing Committee of
the Tenth National Peopleâs Congress of the Peopleâs Republic of China on February 28, 2005, is hereby promulgated and shall
go into effect as of the date of promulgation.
Hu Jintao
President of the Peopleâs Republic of China
February 28, 2005
(Adopted at the 14th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National Peopleâs Congress on February 28, 2005)
1. One article is added after Article 177 as Article 177(a), which reads: âWhoever commits one of the following acts which hamper
the administration of credit cards shall be sentenced to fix-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention
and shall in addition, or shall only, be fined not less than RMB 10,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan; if the amount involved
is huge or if there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fix-term imprisonment of not less than three years
but not more than 10 years and shall, in addition, be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 200, 000 yuan:
â(1) knowingly holding or transporting forged credit cards, or knowingly holding or transporting forged blank credit cards in relatively
large quantities;
â(2) illegally holding other personsâ credit cards in relatively large quantities;
â(3) obtaining credit cards by using false identity certification; and
â(4) selling, buying, or providing other persons with, forged credit cards or credit cards obtained by using false identity certification.
âWhoever steals, buys or illegally provides information and materials about other personsâ credit cards shall be punished in
accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
âAny staff member of a bank or any other financial institution who, taking advantage of his position, commits the act mentioned
in Subparagraph ( 2) shall be given a heavier punishment.â
2. Article 196 is revised to read: âWhoever commits fraud by means of a credit card in any of the following ways shall, if the
amount involved is relatively large, be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention and
shall, in addition, be fined not less than 20,000 yuan but not more than 200,000 yuan; if the amount involved is huge, or if there
are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10
years and shall, in addition, be fined not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan; if the amount involved is especially
huge, or if there are other especially serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10
years or life imprisonment and shall, in addition, be fined not less than 50,000 yuan but not more than 500,000 yuan or his property
shall be confiscated:
â(1) using a forged credit card, or using a credit card obtained by using false identity certification;
â(2) using an invalidated credit card;
â(3) illegally using another personâs credit card; and
â(4) overdrawing with ill intentions.
âOverdrawing with ill intentions as mentioned in the preceding paragraph means that a credit card holder who, for the purpose of
illegal possession, overdraws beyond the norm set or beyond the time limit and refuses to repay the overdrawn amount after the bank
that issues the card urges him to do so.
âWhoever steals a credit card and uses it shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions in Article 264 of this
Law.â
3. One paragraph is added to Article 369 as the second paragraph and this Article is revised to read: âWhoever sabotages weapons
or equipment, military installations or military telecommunications shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than
three years, criminal detention or public surveillance; whoever sabotages major weapons or equipment, military installations or military
telecommunications shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than 10 years; if the
circumstances are especially serious, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, life imprisonment
or death.
âWhoever unintentionally commits the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph, thus causing serious consequences, shall be sentenced
to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention; if the consequences are especially serious, he shall
be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than seven years.
âWhoever in wartime commits any of the crimes mentioned in the preceding two paragraphs shall be given a heavier punishment.â
4. This Amendment shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.
|