Chapter IV    Crimes of Infringing on Citizens’ Personal Rights and Democratic Rights

Article 232 Whoever intentionally commits homicide shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years. If the circumstances are relatively minor, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years.

Article 233 Whoever negligently causes the death of another person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 7 years. If the circumstances are relatively minor, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years. Where it is provided otherwise in other provisions of this Law, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 234 Whoever intentionally inflicts bodily harm on another shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, short-term custody, or non-custodial correction.

Whoever commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, thereby causing serious injuries to another, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years. If the offender causes the death of another or, by resorting to especially cruel means, causes serious injuries to another to the extent of severely disabling that person, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, life imprisonment or death. Where it is provided otherwise in other provisions of this Law, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 234a Whoever organizes others to sell human organs shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 5 years, and concurrently, a fine. If the circumstances are serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 5 years, and concurrently, a fine or confiscation of property.

Whoever removes another person’s organ without the person’s consent, removes an organ of a person under the age of 18, or forces or deceives another person into donating his organ shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions in Article 234 or Article 232 of this Law.

Whoever removes a deceased person’s organ against the person’s express wishes before his death or, in the absence of a person’s consent before his death, removes the dead person’s organ against the will of the person’s close relatives in violation of the state regulations, shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions in Article 302 of this Law.

Article 235 Whoever negligently inflicts bodily harm on a person and causes serious injuries to that person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody. Where it is provided otherwise in other provisions of this Law, such provisions shall prevail.

Article 236 A man who rapes a woman by violence, coercion, or other means, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years.

A man who has sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 14 shall be convicted of rape and be given a heavier punishment.

A man who rapes a woman or has sexual intercourse with an underage girl, if there is any of the following circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, life imprisonment, or death:

(1) raping a woman or having sexual intercourse with an underage girl, where the circumstances are grave;

(2) raping several women or having sexual intercourse with several underage girls;

(3) publicly raping a woman or having sexual intercourse with an underage girl in a public place;

(4) gang-raping committed by two or more men;

(5) having sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 10, or causing injuries to an underage girl; or

(6) causing serious injuries to or the death of the victim, or other serious consequences.

Article 236a A man who, being the guardian, adoptive parent or caretaker of a girl aged 14 or above and under the age of 16, being responsible for the education or medication thereof, or owing other special duties to such a girl, has sexual intercourse with her, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years. If the circumstances are grave, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years.

Whoever commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, which also constitutes a crime under the provisions in Article 236 of this Law, shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions that specify a heavier punishment.

Article 237 Whoever forcibly molests another person or insults a woman by violence, coercion, or other means, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 5 years or short-term custody.

Whoever attends a gathering and commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph or publicly commits such a crime in a public place, or where there are other grave circumstances, this person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 5 years.

Whoever molests a child shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 5 years. If there is any of the following circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 5 years:

(1) molesting several children, or molesting a child several times;

(2) attending a gathering to molest a child or publicly molesting a child in a public place, where the circumstances are grave;

(3) causing injuries to a child or other serious consequences; or

(4) molesting a child by abominable means, or where there are other grave circumstances.

Article 238 Whoever unlawfully detains another person or illegally deprives another person of his personal freedom by any other means shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, short-term custody, non-custodial correction, or deprivation of political rights. If there are circumstances of assaulting or insulting the victim, the offender shall be given a heavier punishment.

Whoever commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, thereby causing serious injuries to the victim, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years. If it causes the death of the victim, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years. If the offender uses violence and thereby causes injury to, disability of or the death of the victim, the offender shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions in Article 234 or Article 232 of this Law.

Whoever unlawfully confines or detains another person for debt collection shall be punished in accordance with the provisions in the preceding two paragraphs.

A functionary of a state organ who commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding three paragraphs by taking advantage of his office shall be given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions in the preceding three paragraphs.

Article 239 Whoever kidnaps another person for ransom or kidnaps another person as a hostage shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment, and concurrently, a fine or confiscation of property. If the circumstances are relatively minor, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years, and concurrently, a fine.

Whoever commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph and kills the kidnapped person, or intentionally inflicts bodily harm on the kidnapped person, thereby causing serious injuries to or the death of the person, shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or death, and concurrently, confiscation of property.

Whoever steals an infant or a child for ransom shall be punished in accordance with the preceding two paragraphs.

Article 240 Whoever abducts and traffics in a woman or child shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 5 years but not more than 10 years, and concurrently, a fine. If there is any of the following circumstances, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment, and concurrently, a fine or confiscation of property. If the circumstances are especially serious, the offender shall be sentenced to death, and concurrently, confiscation of property:

(1) being the ringleader of a criminal group engaged in the abduction and trafficking of women and children;

(2) abducting and trafficking in three or more women and children;

(3) raping the abducted and trafficked woman;

(4) enticing or forcing the woman who is abducted and trafficked in to engage in prostitution, or selling such a woman to another person to force her into prostitution;

(5) kidnapping a woman or child by means of violence, coercion or intoxication or by using intoxication for the purpose of selling the victim;

(6) stealing an infant or a child for the purpose of selling the victim;

(7) causing serious injuries to or the death of the abducted and trafficked woman or child or any relative thereof, or causing other serious consequences; or

(8) selling a woman or child out of the territory of the People’s Republic of China.

Abducting and trafficking in a woman or child refer to any of the following acts: trapping, kidnapping, buying, selling, picking up and dropping off, or transporting a woman or child, for the purpose of selling the victim.

Article 241 Whoever buys an abducted and trafficked woman or child shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, short-term custody, or non-custodial correction.

A man who buys an abducted and trafficked woman and forces her to have sexual intercourse with him shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions in Article 236 of this Law.

Whoever buys an abducted and trafficked woman or child and unlawfully deprives the victim of personal freedom, restricts the victim’s personal freedom or commits a criminal act of injuring or insulting the victim or other criminal acts against the victim, shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the relevant provisions of this Law.

Whoever buys an abducted and trafficked woman or child and commits a crime as prescribed in the second and third paragraphs of this Article shall be punished in accordance with the provisions on combining punishments for multiple crimes.

Whoever buys an abducted and trafficked woman or child and sells the victim afterward shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions in Article 240 of this Law.

Whoever buys an abducted and trafficked child but does not abuse the child and does not obstruct the rescue of the child may be given a lighter punishment. Whoever buys an abducted and trafficked woman but does not obstruct the return of the woman to her original place of residence as the woman wishes may be given a lighter or mitigated punishment.

Article 242 Whoever, by violence or threat, obstructs a functionary of a state organ in the rescue of a trafficked woman or child shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions in Article 277 of this Law.

A ringleader who gathers a crowd to prevent a functionary of a state organ from rescuing a trafficked woman or child shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 5 years or short-term custody; other participants of the gathering who resort to violence or threat shall be punished in accordance with the provisions in the preceding paragraph.

Article 243 Whoever fabricates facts and lodges a false accusation against another person with the intention of having the person prosecuted, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, short-term custody, or non-custodial correction. If the consequences are serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years.

A functionary of a state organ who commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be given a heavier punishment.

The provisions in the preceding two paragraphs shall not apply to those who have made a mistake in the accusation or report without the intention of framing others.

Article 244 Whoever, by violence, threat, or restriction of personal freedom, forces another person to work shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody, and concurrently, a fine. If the circumstances are serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years, and concurrently, a fine.

Whoever, knowing that another person commits an act as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, recruits or transports personnel for the person or otherwise assists in forcing others to work, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions in the preceding paragraph.

An entity committing a crime as prescribed in the preceding two paragraphs shall be fined, and the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be punished in accordance with the provisions in the first paragraph of this Article.

Article 244a Where an entity, in violation of the laws or regulations on labor administration, employs a minor under the age of 16 to do physical labor of ultra-intensity, to work at height or in a pit, or to work in an explosion-prone or combustion-prone environment, or with exposure to radioactive or poisonous substances or under other dangerous conditions, if the circumstances are serious, the directly responsible persons shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody, and concurrently, a fine. If the circumstances are especially serious, the offenders shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 7 years, and concurrently, a fine.

Whoever commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph and causes an accident, which concurrently constitutes another crime, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions on combining punishments for multiple crimes.

Article 245 Whoever unlawfully searches another person’s body or residence or unlawfully intrudes into another person's residence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody.

A judicial officer who abuses his office and commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be given a heavier punishment.

Article 246 Whoever blatantly insults another person by violence or other methods, or slanders another person, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, short-term custody, non-custodial correction, or deprivation of political rights.

The crime prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be handled only upon private prosecution, unless it causes serious harm to public order or to the interests of the state.

The people’s court may request the public security organ to provide assistance when a victim files a complaint with the court about an act conducted via information network as prescribed in the preceding paragraph but has difficulties in providing evidence.

Article 247 A judicial officer who extorts a confession from a criminal suspect or defendant by torture or extorts testimony from a witness by violence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody. If such an act causes injury to, disability of or the death of the criminal suspect, defendant or witness, the offender shall be convicted and be given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions in Article 234 or Article 232 of this Law.

Article 248 A custodial officer of a prison, detention house, custody house or any other custodial institution who assaults or physically abuses a person in custody, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody. If the circumstances are especially serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years. If such an act causes injury to, disability of or the death of the person in custody, the offender shall be convicted and be given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions in Article 234 or Article 232 of this Law.

A custodial officer who abets a person in custody to assault or physically abuse another person in custody shall be punished in accordance with the provisions in the preceding paragraph.

Article 249 Whoever incites ethnic hatred or discrimination, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, short-term custody, non-custodial correction, or deprivation of political rights. If the circumstances are especially serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 10 years.

Article 250 Where a publication carries content discriminating against or insulting an ethnic minority group, if the circumstances are grave and the consequences are serious, the directly responsible persons shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, short-term custody, or non-custodial correction.

Article 251 A functionary of a state organ who unlawfully deprives a citizen of his freedom of religious belief or interferes in the custom and habits of an ethnic minority group, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 2 years or short-term custody.

Article 252 Whoever conceals, destroys, discards, or unlawfully opens another person's letter, thereby infringing on the citizen's freedom of correspondence, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 1 year or short-term custody.

Article 253 A postal worker who opens, conceals, destroys, or discards mails or telegrams without authorization shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 2 years or short-term custody.

Whoever steals money or other forms of property by committing a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be convicted and be given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions in Article 264 of this Law.

Article 253a Whoever, in violation of the relevant state regulations, sells or offers personal information of citizens to others, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody, and concurrently, a fine, or shall be sentenced to a fine only. If the circumstances are especially serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 7 years, and concurrently, a fine.

Whoever, in violation of the relevant state regulations, sells or offers to others the personal information of citizens which is obtained during his performance of duty or provision of services, shall be given a heavier punishment in accordance with the provisions in the preceding paragraph.

Whoever unlawfully obtains personal information of citizens by stealing or other means shall be punished in accordance with the provisions in the first paragraph.

An entity committing a crime as prescribed in the preceding three paragraphs shall be fined, and the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be punished in accordance with the provisions in the corresponding paragraph.

Article 254 A functionary of a state organ who, abusing his office or using the power for private ends, retaliates against or frames a complainant, petitioner, critic, or accuser, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 2 years or short-term custody. If the circumstances are serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 2 years but not more than 7 years.

Article 255 A leader of a company, an enterprise, a public institution, a state organ, or an organization who retaliates against an accountant or a statistician who has resisted acts violating the Accounting Law or the Statistics Law in the performance of his duties in accordance with the law, if the circumstances are grave, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody.

Article 256 Whoever, in the election of deputies to a people's congress or of leading members of a state organ, by means such as violence, threat, deception, bribery, falsification of electoral documents, or false report of ballots, disrupts the election or obstructs the electorate or the deputies in freely exercising the right to vote or the right to stand for election, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years, short-term custody, or deprivation of political rights.

Article 257 Whoever interferes with another person's freedom of marriage by violence shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 2 years or short-term custody.

Whoever commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, thereby causing the death of the victim, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 2 years but not more than 7 years.

The crime prescribed in the first paragraph of this Article shall be handled only upon private prosecution.

Article 258 Whoever with a spouse commits bigamy, or whoever knowingly marries a person who has a spouse, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 2 years or short-term custody.

Article 259 Whoever knowingly cohabits with or marries a person who is the spouse of a serviceperson in active service shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody.

A man who, by taking advantage of his office or the subordinate relationship, has sexual intercourse with the wife of a serviceperson in active service by means of coercion, shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions in Article 236 of this Law.

Article 260 Whoever abuses a family member, if the circumstances are grave, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 2 years, short-term custody, or non-custodial correction.

Whoever commits a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, thereby causing serious injuries to or the death of the victim, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 2 years but not more than 7 years.

The crime prescribed in the first paragraph of this Article shall be handled only upon private prosecution, except where the victim lacks capacity, or is under coercion or threat and therefore is unable to prosecute.

Article 260a Whoever maltreats a minor, an elderly, a sick person, a person with disability, or any other person of whom he is a guardian or caretaker, if the circumstances are grave, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody.

An entity committing a crime as prescribed in the preceding paragraph shall be fined, and the directly responsible persons in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be punished in accordance with the provisions in the preceding paragraph.

Whoever commits a crime as prescribed in the first paragraph, which concurrently constitutes another crime, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions that specify a heavier punishment.

Article 261 Whoever refuses to fulfill the duty to support an elderly, a minor, a sick person, or any other person who cannot live independently, if the circumstances are grave, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 5 years, short-term custody, or non-custodial correction.

Article 262 Whoever abducts a minor under the age of 14, thereby causing the separation of the minor from his family or guardian, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 5 years or short-term custody.

Article 262a Whoever, by means of violence or coercion, organizes persons with disabilities or minors under the age of 14 to panhandle, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody, and concurrently, a fine. If the circumstances are serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 7 years, and concurrently, a fine.

Article 262b Whoever organizes minors to commit theft, fraud, forcible seizure of property, blackmail, or any other activity that is in violation of public security administration, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than 3 years or short-term custody, and concurrently, a fine. If the circumstances are serious, the offender shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years but not more than 7 years, and concurrently, a fine.