Supreme Procuratorate report: In the first half of 2021, 919 people were convicted of crimes related to work safety!

Thread Content

According to the Supreme Procuratorate, in the first half of 2021, procuratorial agencies across the country accepted and reviewed cases involving 919 persons accused of crimes related to safety in production, such as crimes of major liability accidents, major labor safety accidents, and accidents caused by hazardous materials. Except for the crime of engaging in dangerous operations, which was added by the 11th Amendment to the Criminal Law, the number of cases related to other crimes decreased by 5.3% compared to the same period in 2019 (2020 cannot be used as a comparison figure due to the impact of the pandemic). Statistics from early 2021: Procuratorial authorities filed charges in 7,978 cases involving crimes related to production accidents, targeting 13,205 individuals over a period of four years! Over the past four years, procuratorial agencies across the country have accepted 9,914 criminal cases involving threats to production safety, involving 16,488 suspects, for review and prosecution; charges were filed in 7,978 of these cases involving 13,205 suspects. Crimes are characterized by a concentration of specific offenses and an abundance of negligent crimes. This morning, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate reported on the main aspects of handling criminal cases related to threats to production safety, and released the 25th batch of guiding cases issued by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on such criminal cases. The rate of refusal to issue arrest warrants in criminal cases related to threats to production safety reached 43.6%. Yuan Ming, head of the Second Prosecution Department of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, stated that from January 2017 to December 2020, procuratorial authorities across the country received 3,923 cases involving 6,934 persons in connection with criminal acts that threatened production safety (11 offenses covered by Articles 131 to 139 of the Criminal Law). Arrest warrants were issued in 2,348 cases involving 3,909 persons, while they were refused in 1,729 cases involving 3,025 persons; thus, the refusal rate was 43.6% (of these, 48.8% were due to the absence of a threat to society, 43.8% due to insufficient evidence, 5% because the acts did not constitute a crime, and 2.4% for other reasons). Procuratorial agencies across the country accepted 9,914 cases involving 16,488 persons for review and prosecution; 7,978 cases involving 13,205 persons were prosecuted, while 1,686 cases involving 3,283 persons were not prosecuted, resulting in a non-prosecution rate of 19.9%. It is reported that, aside from the decline in the number of cases filed in 2020 due to the pandemic, the volume of cases received by procuratorial authorities has remained relatively stable over the years. The offenses involved mainly include crimes of major liability accidents, major work safety accidents, major flight accidents, railway operation safety accidents, major safety accidents in educational facilities, and major safety accidents during large-scale public events. Based on the handling of cases by procuratorial authorities, such crimes exhibit the following characteristics: First, crimes of major liability accidents account for the vast majority, and there have been many incidents related to crimes involving dangerous operations since they were classified as criminal offenses. From 2017 to 2020, among the cases related to crimes that endangered work safety accepted for review and arrest by procuratorial agencies across the country, the crime of serious responsibility accidents was the most common, accounting for 78.5% ； Next is the crime of major labor safety accidents, accounting for 11.8%. Since the criminalization of the offense of engaging in dangerous operations on March 1 this year, there has been a high number of such incidents; from March to June, 94 people were prosecuted for this offense, accounting for 13.1% of all crimes related to threats to work safety during that period. II. The fields involved in crimes are showing a trend toward diversification. Major accidents occur in a wide range of areas; in addition to sectors such as the production and handling of hazardous chemicals, coal mining, and road traffic, serious casualties also occur from time to time in large-scale public events and in terms of urban building safety. Incidents such as the collapse of the Fujian Xinja Hotel in 2020 and the off-road race accident in Baiyin, Gansu in 2021 both resulted in the death of over 20 people. III. Behind this, there are often crimes such as dereliction of duty. Such crimes often occur alongside dereliction of duty crimes such as negligence and abuse of power, as well as crimes involving the production and sale of substandard products or products that do not meet safety standards. Such as the major labor safety accidents and major liability accident cases involving Yu and others handled by the procuratorial authorities. Before the accident occurred, the company involved had a series of violations; potential hazards were identified but no effective measures were taken in a timely manner, which led to the accident. During the investigation, it was found that some departments failed to supervise the bidding process for equipment procurement by the accident-stricken company, allowing the company to organize bids on its own and purchase products of severely substandard quality ； Some departments fail to fulfill their regulatory duties and do not conduct inspections and supervision over the installation and use of special equipment in companies involved in accidents ； Some departments fail to supervise and correct violations of laws and regulations in their work related to safety and quality inspection. The prosecution authorities charged the responsible **staff members with dereliction of duty, and they were all sentenced. IV. It reveals issues such as a lack of safety awareness and inadequate management of safe production. Investigations have revealed that such crimes are often associated with issues such as a lack of safety awareness among the involved entities or individuals, absence of necessary qualifications to carry out their work, violations of safety procedures, and chaotic internal supervision. Some of the organizations involved in these incidents prioritize production over safety; driven by factors such as work performance and financial gains, they engage in illegal and irregular production activities for a long time, thereby creating potential risks for the occurrence of serious accidents ； Some hazardous chemical manufacturing enterprises have even been producing in violation of regulations for over 10 years ； Some of the entities involved in these incidents did not invest enough in safety measures; they failed to establish safety management agencies in accordance with relevant laws and regulations. To cut costs, they did not equip themselves with necessary safety monitoring and alarm devices, nor did they provide workers with the appropriate training, and in some cases, they even failed to supply workers with the essential safety gear. The procuratorial authorities always adhere to being guided by the principle of the rule of law, firmly uphold the people-centered development concept, punish crimes that threaten work safety in accordance with the law, and actively promote comprehensive governance in the field of work safety. First, focus on strengthening cooperation with relevant law enforcement and judicial agencies. In 2019, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, in conjunction with the Ministry of Emergency Management, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Supreme People’s Court, issued the \"Measures for the Coordination between Administrative Law Enforcement in Work Safety and Criminal Justice,\" which set out specific rules regarding daily cooperation between administrative and judicial authorities, the exchange of information, the transfer of cases, and legal oversight. Procuratorial agencies across the country, in light of local conditions, effectively carry out functions such as urging the transfer of leads and overseeing case filing. For example, the Procuratorate of Chaohu City in Anhui Province, while participating in the investigation of an accident, discovered that the accident might involve criminal offenses, and it was necessary to hold the relevant persons accountable under the law. Following the investigation and verification, it was recommended in accordance with the law that the Chaohu City Work Safety Supervision Bureau transfer the cases suspected of being criminal offenses to the public security authorities and send a copy to the procuratorial authorities; the relevant responsible persons were held legally accountable for their crimes. Second, get involved in advance to guide the investigation and evidence collection, thereby strengthening the evidential basis for the case. For major and sensitive cases for which arrest has not yet been requested or which have not been referred for prosecution review, the procuratorial authorities intervene in advance in accordance with the law to guide the comprehensive collection and preservation of evidence. For example, in cases that have attracted significant public attention, such as the off-road race accident in Baiyin, Gansu, the procuratorial authorities intervened in advance in accordance with the law to guide the investigation and evidence collection, thereby laying a foundation for the proper handling of these cases per legal requirements. Adhering to the obligations of objectivity and fairness, strict attention is paid to the facts of the case, the evidence, the procedural aspects, and the application of law, so as to ensure the organic integration of political, social, and legal outcomes in judicial proceedings. Third, fully leverage the role of procuratorial suggestions to promote comprehensive management of work safety. Upon identifying weaknesses in work safety and gaps in supervision during case handling, the procuratorial authorities promptly issue procuratorial suggestions to urge the relevant functional departments to fulfill their supervisory duties, thereby encouraging the associated enterprises and individuals to strengthen risk prevention and control as well as enhance their awareness of work safety and management practices. For example, when handling a case related to dangerous operations, the Procuratorate of Nanxun District, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, conducted special inspections in collaboration with relevant departments to address the issues identified in the case. Together, they developed the \"Detailed Rules for the Coordination between Administrative Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice in Work Safety\" for that district. Additionally, the procuratorate issued recommendations to the relevant departments to strengthen their oversight responsibilities and improve the work safety standards of those enterprises. Next, the procuratorial authorities will further strengthen cooperation with relevant departments, fully carry out their prosecutorial duties, punish crimes that threaten safe production in accordance with the law, actively promote the improvement of systems and mechanisms for supervising and enforcing safety regulations, and enhance legal education on safe production through case handling, so as to better protect the lives and property of the people.