The procuratorial organs at all levels in China handled over 4.09 million cases in 2024, approving the arrest of 753,000 criminal suspects and prosecuting over 1.631 million individuals, according to a work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) submitted on Saturday to the National People's Congress (NPC) -- China's national legislature -- for deliberation.
The SPP work report was delivered by Procurator-General Ying Yong at the second plenary meeting of the ongoing third session of the 14th NPC in Beijing.
In 2024, the procuratorial organs nationwide took firm actions to safeguard national security by cracking down on subversion and separatist activities in accordance with law, the report said.
Severe violent crimes were settled with swift and strict prosecution, the report said.
Procuratorates approved the arrest and indictment of perpetrators in high-profile cases, including that of a driver who deliberately rammed pedestrians in south China's Zhuhai City and an assailant in a Jiangsu school stabbing incident.
Partnering with public security organs, the SPP approved the prosecution of 336 individuals for cases dating back over two decades.
Crimes that arouse strong public resentment were also rigorously punished in the year. A total of 12,000 individuals were prosecuted for Mafia-style criminal offenses, while 74 officials were charged for acting as "protective umbrellas" for criminal activities.
In a landmark case, Yu Huaying, a female criminal convicted of abducting and trafficking in 17 children, and leading accomplices in her case were prosecuted, with the court sentencing Yu to death.
In the year, efforts were made to intensify the crackdown on telecom fraud crimes, as 78,000 people were prosecuted, a year-on-year growth of 53.9 percent, according to the report.
In one case mentioned in the report, the top procuratorate gave instructions to prosecutors in east China's coastal Zhejiang Province on a case involving 39 members of Myanmar-based criminal gangs targeting Chinese nationals.
The fight against corruption remained a priority in 2024, the report said.
The procuratorial organs nationwide handled 27,000 cases transferred by supervisory commissions at all levels, leading to the prosecution of 24,000 individuals, including 34 former provincial- and ministerial-level officials such as Sun Zhigang and Liu Liange.
Sun, former secretary of the Communist Party of China Guizhou Provincial Committee, was sentenced to death, with a two-year reprieve, for taking bribes.
Liu, former chairman of the Bank of China, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for bribe-taking and illegal issuing of loans.
In the year, efforts were made to foster a law-based business environment, with strengthened oversight of compulsory measures such as asset seizures and detentions, according to the report.
The SPP supervised the processing of 31 key cases to rectify the misuse of criminal procedures in economic disputes and cross-regional law enforcement violations.
The procuratorial organs also contributed to high-quality development in the financial sector.
The SPP remained dedicated to ensuring financial stability by guiding protectorates at lower levels in prosecuting 42 individuals in Evergrande-related cases and 49 others in cases linked to the Zhongzhi enterprise group.
In the year, the SPP teamed up with the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Water Resources, and other competent central government agencies to carry out water quality protection in major river basins, including the Yangtze River, the Yellow River and the Pearl River, thus achieving a coordinated redress against water contamination.
Additionally, the procuratorial organs remained committed to ensuring public safety, cracking down on food and drug violations in areas such as community group buying and livestream e-commerce, handling 26,000 public interest litigation cases in the year.
The prosecutorial organs stepped up the protection of women and juniors, the report said.
In the year, a total of 48,000 individuals were prosecuted for crimes against women, while 74,000 were prosecuted for offenses against minors, including sexual assault and physical abuse. Additionally, 34 individuals were charged in severe violent crimes committed by underage offenders.
In carrying out prosecutorial supervision over the handling of cases by investigative authorities in the year, the procuratorial organs at all levels nationwide facilitated the makeup filing of 28,000 cases that should have been initiated by investigative authorities earlier, and enabled the withdrawal of 66,000 cases that should have never been initiated. Also in the year, the procuratorial organs lodged prosecutorial protect in 6,500 criminal cases in which serious mistakes were found to have been made, 5,601 of which had already been wrapped up by courts, with the cases of misjudgment correction or remanding for retrial accounting for 75.6 percent of the total.
The 14th NPC is holding its annual session from March 5 to 11.
China's procuratorates handle 4.1 million cases in 2024
