Stats are in for the major cases of COVID wrongdoing so far this year. While previously it was inadequate implementation of prevention and control or a relaxed mentality which led to disciplinary action, the 2022 range of epidemic-related crime is decidedly more sinister.
As alert readers who had an eye on events at Nanjing Lukou International Airport exactly a year ago will know, the penalties for obstruction of, or inadequate, prevention and control of infectious diseases are pretty harsh.
The Airport’s Chairman and four other high-ranking airport officials were sacked or disciplined, while at least 15 other Nanjing government officials also received penalties after that which was then the worst COVID outbreak since Wuhan.
That was then. Today, the types of epidemic-related crimes have changed greatly. Yesterday, 20 July, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate released data for the principal cases handled by national procuratorial organs from the first half of this year. The data released shows a rapid growth in the number of crimes of smuggling of both goods and people, illegal border crossings, and obstructing the prevention and control of infectious diseases.
You read correctly; people smuggling.
Procuratorial organs nationwide prosecuted a total of 1,316 people for 708 epidemic-related crimes between 1 January and 30 June, 2022. Provinces with the largest number of prosecutions include Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Henan, Yunnan and Zhejiang. In Guangxi, which borders on Vietnam; and Yunnan, bordering on Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar, the top epidemic-related crimes were the smuggling of both goods and people, and the obstruction of national border management.
According to the change in the trend of epidemic-related crimes this year, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate has also issued three batches of 16 typical cases, with the latest on 5 June. The cases involved disrupting people’s livelihood and the material security of epidemic prevention and control, disrupting the order of the market economy, and the pursuit of “epidemic wealth”.
By publishing typical cases, the Procuratorate not only guides procuratorial organs in all regions to handle cases correctly, but also forms a deterrent to potential crimes. In addition, it promotes the awareness, vigilance and prevention of epidemic-related crimes among society as a whole.
According to a report by The Paper, procuratorial organs across the country will resolutely and quickly punish illegal and criminal acts that seriously impede the order of epidemic prevention, or that seriously endanger citizens’ lives and health.
Interpol states, “People smuggling is closely tied to the use of fraudulent travel documents and is linked to other crimes such as illicit money flows, corruption, terrorism, trafficking in illicit goods and human trafficking”.
