The Supreme People's Court has released typical cases of lawful punishment of crimes endangering public safety

Typical cases of crimes endangering public safety are to be punished in accordance with law

Case 1: Li Mouchen's case of endangering public safety by dangerous means

- Deliberately throwing bottles and glasses continuously into public places from high altitudes

Causing serious bodily injury constitutes the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means

(1) The basic facts of the case

At about 14:00 on May 18, 2017, defendant Li Mouchen was invited by his fellow villagers to drink alcohol in a house on the 21st floor of a community in Shapingba District, Chongqing City, which was outside the playground of a middle school in Chongqing. At about 18 o'clock that day, Li Mouchen deliberately threw an empty beer bottle from the living room balcony to the playground downstairs because he was in a bad mood, and the beer bottle fell to the school playground and shattered, and the fragments rebounded to the back of a student who was exercising on the school playground. A few minutes later, Li Mouchen threw a glass with a handle from the living room balcony to the playground downstairs, and the glass hit the head of Ye Moumou (victim, 13 years old), a student who was exercising on the school playground, causing Ye Moumou to suffer serious head injuries, constituting a second-degree serious injury.

(2) Judgment results

The Chongqing Shapingba District People's Court held at trial that the defendant Li Mouchen threw empty beer bottles and glasses into the school playground from the upper floors of the building, which was as dangerous as the acts of arson, flooding, explosion, and throwing dangerous substances as provided for in the Criminal Law, and might endanger the lives, health, and safety of public and private property of unspecified persons, and actually caused serious consequences of serious injury to one person. Li Mouchen clearly knew that throwing objects from a height in the air from a high-rise house on the 21st floor was a dangerous act, and when he threw a beer bottle, he had already seen the downstairs school playground and some students exercising on the playground, and recklessly threw down empty beer bottles and glasses in order to vent his emotions, causing serious consequences to the victim, subjectively having an intentional mentality, and objectively having the possibility of causing more serious harmful consequences, which meets the constitutive elements of the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means. Li Mouchen confessed his guilt after being brought into the case, and he may be given a lighter punishment. Accordingly, a judgment was rendered on February 1, 2018, sentencing the defendant Li Mouchen to 10 years imprisonment for the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means. After the first-instance verdict was announced, Li Mouchen appealed. On May 4 of the same year, the Chongqing No. 1 Intermediate People's Court issued a ruling, rejecting the appeal and upholding the original judgment.

(3) Typical significance

For acts of throwing objects from high altitudes, factors such as the perpetrator's subjective motives, the place where the object was thrown, the specific circumstances of the object, and the harmful consequences caused, shall be comprehensively considered to the degree of social harm of the conduct, the nature of the conduct shall be accurately judged, the charges shall be correctly applied, and the punishment shall be accurately determined. According to the provisions of Article 291-2, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law, throwing objects from buildings or other heights, where the circumstances are serious, constitutes the crime of throwing objects from a height. Paragraph 2 of this article also stipulates that where the conduct in the preceding paragraph constitutes another crime at the same time, it shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions of the heavier punishment. Although there is a possibility of endangering public safety, the vast majority of high-altitude throwing behaviors in practice generally do not have realistic danger and do not cause actual harmful consequences, and some have caused certain harmful consequences such as property damage, but the consequences are not serious, and the conviction and punishment of the crime of throwing objects from high altitudes is more in line with the principle of proportionality of criminal responsibility and punishment. However, in individual cases, where the perpetrator intentionally throws heavy objects, knives, or other items from buildings or other heights into roads, squares, residential areas, and other public places, endangering public safety, causing serious injury or death, or causing major losses to public or private property, such conduct has already caused actual harm to public safety, and shall be convicted and punished as the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means in accordance with the provisions of article 291-bis, paragraph 2, and article 115, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law. People's courts should always adhere to the overall principle of severely punishing crimes of arson, flooding, explosions, disseminating dangerous substances, or endangering public safety by dangerous means in accordance with law, fully considering all factors such as the nature of the perpetrator's conduct, the target of the violation, the harmful consequences, subjective malice, and personal dangerousness, to accurately determine criminal responsibility.

Case 2: Case of Wang Mougang destroying flammable and explosive equipment

- Destruction of oil and gas equipment in use, theft of oil and gas, resulting in fires

Constitutes the crime of destroying flammable and explosive equipment

(1) The basic facts of the case

At about 3 a.m. on August 30, 2012, defendant Wang Mougang, together with Zhao Moutian, Zhao Moulong, Mao Moubing (all sentenced) and Liu Mouchun (who had died in this case), carried pipe wrenches, hoses and other tools, drove two vans to Well 511K in the operation area of Dagang Oilfield Oil Production Plant No. 1 on the east side of Jinqi Highway in Binhai New Area, Tianjin, and opened the valve of the oil well to connect the hose to steal crude oil. During this period, due to the excessive concentration of combustible gas released from the oil well, Liu Mouchun caused a fire when he started the van, causing the oil well switch control cabinet, cables, instruments and two oil theft vans to be burned, Liu Mouchun was burned all over his body, and died after ineffective treatment. After identification, the total value of the burned cables and other items was 6,120 yuan. Wang was captured on March 11, 2021.

(2) Judgment results

The Tianjin Binhai New Area People's Court held at trial that the defendant Wang Mougang and others used destructive means to steal crude oil from an oil well that was in production, causing the death of one person and causing serious consequences, and that the act constituted the crime of destroying flammable and explosive equipment. Wang Mougang and several co-defendants premeditated the theft of crude oil in advance and jointly carried out the theft of crude oil, and were the main offenders. Wang Mougang truthfully confessed his crime after being brought into the case, constituting a confession, and may be given a lighter punishment in accordance with law; Those who voluntarily admit guilt and accept punishment may be given a lenient disposition in accordance with law. Accordingly, a judgment was rendered on June 3, 2021, and the defendant Wang Mougang was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for the crime of destroying flammable and explosive equipment. After the first-instance judgment was pronounced, there was no protest or appeal, and the judgment has taken legal effect.

(3) Typical significance

In recent years, illegal and criminal acts of stealing oil and gas and destroying oil and gas equipment have occurred from time to time, causing serious harm to society.

The people's courts should give full play to their adjudication functions and effectively punish illegal and criminal acts such as drilling and stealing oil, opening wells and stealing oil, and sabotaging oil and gas fields and oil and gas pipelines in accordance with the law, especially those who cause fires, explosions, and other accidents in the course of carrying out the above-mentioned acts, causing serious consequences, and even more severely punish them in accordance with the law.

Where, in the course of committing acts such as stealing oil and gas, the perpetrator uses cutting, punching, prying, or dismantling to destroy oil and gas equipment in use, endangering public safety, or uses means such as opening or closing to destroy oil and gas equipment in use, which is sufficient to cause fire, explosion, or other dangers, but has not yet caused serious consequences, it is to be convicted and punished as the crime of destroying flammable and explosive equipment in accordance with article 118 of the Criminal Law; Where a fire or explosion occurs, causing serious consequences, a sentence of not less than 10 years imprisonment, life imprisonment or the death penalty shall be given in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 119 of the Criminal Law. Where the theft of oil and gas or oil and gas equipment in use is not sufficient to endanger public safety, but the amount is relatively large or there are multiple thefts or thefts with a murder weapon, it is to be convicted and punished as the crime of theft in accordance with the provisions of article 264 of the Criminal Law. Where conduct simultaneously meets the constitutive elements of the crime of destroying flammable or explosive equipment and the crime of theft, it shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions for the heavier punishment, so that the punishment is commensurate with the crime.

Case 3 Case of illegal trading of firearms by Liu Moukui and Sun Moumei

-- Comprehensively consider the circumstances of the case to determine criminal responsibility in criminal cases involving air guns

(1) The basic facts of the case

In December 2013, Zhang Mouwei and Fang Moujun, men from Tonglu County, Zhejiang Province (both handled in separate cases) wanted to open a live CS field club, and through the introduction of others, they contacted the defendant Liu Moukui, a seller in Beijing, to negotiate the purchase of paintball guns. In December 2014, Zhang Mouwei and Fang Moujun went to Beijing to pay Liu Moukui 30,000 yuan in cash, Liu Moukui mailed 40 sets of paintball guns to Zhang Mouwei, and Zhang Mouwei handed over the balance of 60,000 yuan to the logistics company and transferred it to Liu Moukui.

In June 2014, the defendant Sun Moumei wanted to purchase firearms needed to carry out wild live CS games for an outward bound training company in Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province, which he co-operated with others, and after discussing with the co-operator, the co-operator contacted Liu Moukui through the Internet, and went to Beijing to purchase 24 sets of paintball guns and more than 5,000 rounds of paintballs from Liu Moukui at a price of 32,000 yuan, and sent them to Sun Moumei and others in Qiqihar City through logistics channels.

After identification, among the paintball guns involved in the case, 15 purchased by Zhang Mouwei and Fang Moujun, and 3 purchased by Sun Moumei and others had a muzzle specific kinetic energy of more than 1.8 joules/square centimeter, which met the relevant relevant standards and was identified as a gun powered by compressed gas, but the muzzle specific kinetic energy was generally low; The remaining 46 paintball guns could not fire normally or the muzzle specific kinetic energy was less than 1.8 joules per square centimeter, and could not be identified as firearms.

(2) Judgment results

The Tiefeng District People's Court of Qiqihar City, Heilongjiang Province held through trial that the acts of defendants Liu Moukui and Sun Moumei constituted the crime of illegal buying and selling of firearms, and comprehensively considered the subjective malice of each defendant, the number of firearms bought and sold, the use, the harmful consequences, and the attitude of admitting guilt, etc., and made a judgment on May 9, 2019, and sentenced the defendant Liu Moukui to three years and six months imprisonment for the crime of illegal trading of firearms; Defendant Sun Moumei was sentenced to one year imprisonment with a one-year suspended sentence for the crime of illegally buying and selling firearms, and was to be reported for approval in accordance with the procedures for sentencing below the legally-prescribed penalty. After review, the Supreme People's Court found that the original judgment sentenced Liu Moukui to three years and six months imprisonment for the crime of illegally buying and selling firearms, which did not belong to the circumstances that required a criminal punishment below the statutory penalty to be reported for approval, and that the sentence imposed on Sun Moumei was too heavy, and ruled not to approve and revoke the sentencing of defendants Liu Moukui and Sun Moumei, and remanded to the Tiefeng District People's Court of Qiqihar City for a new trial. After a retrial, the Tiefeng District People's Court of Qiqihar City made a judgment on May 30, 2022, sentencing the defendant Liu Moukui to three years and six months in prison for the crime of illegally buying and selling firearms; Defendant Sun Moumei was exempted from criminal punishment for the crime of illegally buying and selling firearms. After the first-instance judgment was pronounced, there was no protest or appeal, and the judgment has taken legal effect.

(3) Typical significance

The management of firearms, ammunition, and explosives is directly related to social public safety and the safety of people's lives and property. Criminal responsibility shall be strictly pursued for the illegal manufacture, sale, transportation, mailing, storage, possession, concealment, or smuggling of firearms and ammunition, as well as the illegal manufacture, sale, transportation, mailing, and storage of explosives, in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law and relevant judicial interpretations. On the other hand, the trial of criminal cases involving firearms, ammunition, and explosives should also take into account all aspects of the case, implement the requirements of the criminal policy of blending leniency and severity, ensure that the punishment is appropriate to the crime, and ensure that the outcome of the case adjudication meets the people's psychological expectations for fairness and justice. For the illegal manufacture, sale, transportation, mailing, storage, possession, private possession, or smuggling of firearms powered by compressed gas and with low muzzle specific kinetic energy, as well as air gun lead bullets, the provisions of the Criminal Law and the "Reply of the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate on Issues Concerning the Conviction and Sentencing of Criminal Cases Involving Firearms and Air Gun Lead Bullets Powered by Compressed Gas" shall be followed, the circumstances of the case shall be comprehensively considered, the harmfulness to society shall be comprehensively assessed, and the unity of subjectivity and objectivity shall be adhered to, and a decision shall be made on whether to pursue criminal responsibility and how to determine the punishment. Ensure that the punishment is proportionate. In addition, the Reply of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Issues Concerning the Conviction and Sentencing of Criminal Cases Involving Firearms and Air Guns and Lead Bullets Powered by Compressed Gases further refines and improves the conviction and sentencing standards for the crimes of illegal manufacture, sale, transportation, mailing, storage, possession, private possession, and smuggling of firearms and ammunition as stipulated in the relevant judicial interpretations. Where the criteria for determining "serious circumstances" or "especially serious circumstances" for relevant crimes as provided for in relevant judicial interpretations are met, and are not found to be "serious circumstances" or "especially serious circumstances" in accordance with the provisions of the reply, it is not a situation where a criminal punishment below the legally-prescribed penalty is given based on the special circumstances of the case, and the procedures for approving a sentence below the legally-prescribed penalty provided for in paragraph 2 of Criminal Law article 63 are not to apply.

Case 4: Qi Mouhua's major liability accident case

-- Severely punish those who are primarily responsible for production safety accidents

(1) The basic facts of the case

The Juxian Hotel on the side of Taoyun Highway in the southwest of Chenzhuang Village, Taosi Township, Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province, was invested and operated by the defendant Qi Mouhua. In 1993, Qi Mouhua built a two-story building on the responsible field contracted by his family without obtaining the approval procedures for collective land construction land, and then formed the existing regulations in 2016 after repeated illegal expansions, including five rooms on the upper and lower floors of the south house, two rooms for the west bungalow, five rooms for the upper and lower rooms of the north room, and a double-layer space formed by prefabricated panels on the top of the first floor between the north and south rooms, and the top of the second floor is built by color steel tiles, of which the first floor is used for hotel operations (i.e., banquet halls) and the second floor space for residents. The total construction area is 1157.05 square meters. The previous expansions of Juxian Hotel were built by unqualified contractors in accordance with Qi Mouhua's requirements or built by Qi Mouhua's relatives and friends, and there was no professional design, no project supervision, no completion acceptance, no relevant information, and no maintenance records for expansion activities. During the period when Qi Mouhua illegally occupied land to build houses, he twice obtained the unapproved "Collective Land Construction and Use Certificate" through improper means, and refused to implement the penalty decision issued by the former Xiangfen County Land and Resources Bureau and the administrative ruling issued by the Xiangfen County People's Court; The farmhouse that has not been professionally designed and constructed and has not passed the completion acceptance is used for business activities, and the hotel has overdue licenses since its opening.

On August 29, 2020, the villagers of Anli Village, Taosi Township, Xiangfen County, held a birthday banquet at the Juxian Hotel and booked 25 tables of banquets. According to local customs, the birthday banquet is arranged for breakfast and lunch. After breakfast, dozens of villagers played cards and chatted in the banquet hall of the Juxian Hotel, or watched a play in the backyard of the North Building, waiting for luncheon. At about 9:40 on the same day, due to the poor integrity of the building structure, the load-bearing brick columns and the roof load on the second floor of the north building were seriously overloaded, the banquet hall of the Juxian Hotel, the southern half of the second floor of the north building and the steel structure lighting roof suddenly collapsed, resulting in 29 deaths, 28 injuries, and direct economic losses of 11.6435 million yuan. With the approval of the Shanxi Provincial People's Government, an accident investigation team was formed to investigate and determine that the "8.29" collapse accident of Juxian Hotel was a major production safety liability accident due to illegal land occupation construction, and in the absence of professional design and qualified construction, many blind renovation and expansion, and serious defects in the quality of building engineering, resulting in the collapse of some buildings in business activities. The direct cause of the accident is that the integrity of the building structure of Juxian Hotel is poor, and after many additions, the load-bearing brick column III in the northeast corner of the banquet hall has been in a state of high stress for a long time; The prefabricated roof slab of Area A on the second floor of the north building has been in an overload state for a long time, and under the continuous pressure of the upper blast furnace slag insulation layer, brittle fracture occurs, forming a violent impact on the roof of the banquet hall, resulting in the collapse of the load-bearing brick column III in the northeast corner, and finally causing the collapse of the southern half of the second floor of the north building and the banquet hall as a whole. At the time of the accident, the effects of heavy rainfall in August could not be ruled out.

(2) Judgment results

The People's Court of Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province, held at trial that the defendant Qi Mouhua, as the actual investor and operator of the Juxian Hotel where the collapse occurred, had successively expanded the hotel eight times in a period of more than 20 years, and that all of them were blindly expanded by unqualified construction personnel without building approval, professional design, project supervision, and completion acceptance, and were used to engage in business activities without serious defects in the quality of the building project and without a comprehensive assessment of potential safety hazards, resulting in the collapse in the course of operation. Causing a major safety accident and endangering production and operation safety, the act has constituted the crime of major liability accidents. Qi Mouhua has occupied land in violation of regulations for a long time, expanded in violation of regulations for many times, and refused to implement the penalty decision of the land and resources management department, and did not take effective measures to operate and use the hotel building in the state of potential accidents, resulting in the collapse of the hotel building and causing major accident consequences, and bears the main responsibility and primary responsibility for the accident, which is a particularly bad circumstance. Qi Mouhua has repeatedly violated construction regulations and refused to implement the punishment decisions of relevant departments, causing particularly heavy losses to the safety of people's lives and property, and the social impact is particularly bad. Accordingly, a judgment was rendered on April 29, 2022, and the defendant Qi Mouhua was sentenced to seven years in prison for the crime of major liability accidents. After the first-instance judgment was pronounced, there was no protest or appeal, and the judgment has taken legal effect.

(3) Typical significance

Safe production has a bearing on the safety of the people's lives and property, and on the overall situation of reform, development, and stability. At present, the overall situation of production safety in the mainland is stable and improving, but the situation of production safety in key industries and areas is still grim and complex, and there is still a gap between the work of production safety and the requirements of the law, the goals of reform and development, and the expectations of the people. The people's courts should fully understand the importance of hearing criminal cases endangering production safety, truly enhance their sense of responsibility and mission in their work, implement the requirements of the same responsibility of the party and the government, dual responsibilities for one post, joint management, and accountability for dereliction of duty, adhere to the overall principles of being strict in accordance with law, distinguishing responsibilities, and blending leniency with severity, and actively and steadily try criminal cases related to production safety accidents in strict accordance with law. The persons primarily responsible for the accident, the person responsible for dereliction of duty in key positions of the department responsible for the supervision and management of production safety, the key person responsible for the intermediary organization who intentionally provided false supporting documents, and those who instructed, decided, and actively carried out acts of not reporting or falsely reporting the accident after the occurrence of a safety accident should be severely punished in accordance with the provisions of the Criminal Law and relevant judicial interpretations, strictly grasp the application of suspended sentences and exemptions from criminal punishment, and promote the implementation of the responsibility system for production safety through case trials. Leniency may be given to those who actively organize and participate in rescue efforts after an accident occurs, effectively avoid the expansion of losses, actively cooperate with the investigation of the accident, and do their best to compensate the victims for their economic losses. It is necessary to further give full play to the positive role of criminal trials in creating a good environment for safe production and in promoting the coordinated and healthy development of the economy and society, and promote the sustained and fundamental improvement of the situation of safe production.

Case 5: Wu Moubo's dangerous operation case

-- Violations of safety management regulations in production and operation, resulting in a major accident or a minor accident, are "real dangers" in the crime of dangerous operations

(1) The basic facts of the case

In January 2021, the defendant Wu Moubo purchased the Zhedaiyu 15381 vessel and went through the ownership registration of the fishing vessel, and Wu Moubo was the owner of the vessel and held 100% of the shares. On August 2 of the same year, the Marine Administrative Law Enforcement Bureau of Daishan County, Zhejiang Province, together with the People's Government of Daidong Town, Daishan County, conducted a pre-fishing inspection of the Zhejiang Daiyu 15381 ship, and found that the ship had 1 captain (Wu Moubo), 1 deputy, 1 assistant co-dean and 1 chief engineer (the actual co-ointment and chief engineer were not operating on the ship, and were found by Wu Moubo to deal with the inspection), and the crew had reached the minimum staffing standard, but 6 crew members had not been professionally trained, had not obtained crew certificates, and did not meet the conditions for sailing. Wu Moubo was then instructed to prohibit him from leaving Hong Kong and suspend business for rectification, but Wu Moubo did not make rectifications. At about 15 o'clock on August 7, when the first mate and chief engineer did not actually board the ship, and only Wu Moubo and the assistant co-chair boarded the ship, Wu Moubo drove the Zhejiang Daiyu 15381 ship to carry the assistant mate and 19 crew members (7 of whom have crew certificates, 12 people do not have crew certificates), and sailed from Nanfeng Wharf in Daishan County to the direction of the Yangtze River Estuary without authorization. At about 23:30 on the same day, due to illegal driving, improper operation, complex waterways, unfamiliar routes and other reasons, the Zhedaiyu 15381 ship overturned and sank near the north dike of the deep-water channel of the Yangtze River estuary. After the accident, Wu Moubo and other 21 people escaped on two life rafts, and at about 4 o'clock on August 8, they were rescued by the 102nd ship and the 9th Jiazhou boat in the East China Sea, and all the people on board were rescued. On August 13, after being notified by the public security organ by telephone, Wu Moubo appeared in the case on his own and truthfully confessed the facts of the crime.

(2) Judgment results

The People's Court of Daishan County, Zhejiang Province, held at trial that there was only one captain and one assistant deputy on the fishing vessel involved in the case, and the crew members were seriously understaffed, which was a situation where there was a potential danger of major accidents as stipulated in the relevant industry standards. After the relevant functional departments discovered that the fishing vessel involved in the case had a potential danger of a major accident, they ordered it to prohibit it from leaving the port, stop its operations, and make rectifications, and the defendant Wu Moubo refused to make rectifications after receiving an administrative order from the functional department, and knew that the fishing vessel involved in the case had a potential danger of major accidents, and deliberately deceived and evaded inspection, resulting in a ship sinking accident shortly after the fishing vessel involved in the case sailed without authorization, and 21 personnel fell into the water and drifted on the sea late at night, with a real danger that could endanger their lives at any time, and the conduct constituted the crime of dangerous operation. After being notified by the public security organs by telephone, Wu Moubo appeared in the case on his own and truthfully confessed his crimes, constituting voluntary surrender in accordance with law, and may be given a lighter punishment. Accordingly, a judgment was rendered on November 10, 2022, and the defendant Wu Moubo was sentenced to eight months in prison for the crime of dangerous operation. After the first-instance verdict was announced, Wu Moubo appealed. On January 17, 2023, the Intermediate People's Court of Zhoushan City, Zhejiang Province, issued a ruling rejecting the appeal and upholding the original judgment.

(3) Typical significance

In accordance with the provisions of Article 134-1 of the Criminal Law, those who shut down or destroy monitoring, alarm, protection, or life-saving equipment and facilities that are directly related to production safety, or tamper with, conceal, or destroy their relevant data and information, are ordered to suspend production and business, stop construction, stop using relevant equipment, facilities, or places in accordance with the law due to the existence of potential major accidents, or immediately take corrective measures to eliminate dangers, but refuse to carry them out, or engage in mining or metal smelting without approval or permission in accordance with law for matters involving production safety. Construction and the production, operation, storage and other highly dangerous production and operation activities of dangerous goods, and "there is a real danger of serious casualties or other serious consequences", constitute the crime of dangerous work, the purpose is to include the conduct of major accidents that are particularly dangerous and can easily lead to the occurrence of serious accidents into the scope of criminal punishment, and at the same time avoid the general violation of safety management regulations as criminal punishment. In the crime of dangerous operation, "there is a real danger of a major casualty accident or other serious consequences" includes the following two situations: 1. Causing a major accident to occur, but not causing a safety accident because effective measures are taken to stop and deal with it in a timely manner, rescue is carried out in a timely manner, or other accidental objective reasons; Crimes such as fire protection liability accidents. Relevant personnel in the process of production and operation must strictly abide by the provisions of safety management, must not have a fluke mentality, for the implementation of one of the three acts provided for in Article 134-1 of the Criminal Law, and there is a real danger of major casualties or other serious consequences, will be investigated for criminal responsibility in accordance with the law. The people's courts should implement the principle of safety first, prevention first, and comprehensive management, effectively use criminal means to punish dangerous operations in accordance with law, and strictly prevent the evolution of risks and the escalation of hidden dangers from leading to the occurrence of production safety accidents.

Source: Supreme People's Court