The Ministry of Public Security said yesterday that there had
been a decline in serious criminal cases such as bombings, arson
and rape in the country last year.
According to ministry spokesperson Sun Yongbo, police forces
recorded 1,130 bombings, 10,087 arson cases and 36,175 rape cases
last year, down 28.3, 12.9 and 9.8 percent respectively on
2003.
Gun-related crimes also decreased by 13.8 percent, while cases
of breaking-and-entering were slightly down by 2.5 percent.
But the total number of criminal cases rose. Sun said more than
4.7 million cases were recorded, up 7.4 percent on the previous
year.
Sun attributed the overall increase to a rise in stealing and
robbery cases, which totaled about 4 million, a jump of 7.8
percent.
According to Sun, the ability of public security forces to solve
cases improved, which helped them unearth a series of serious
criminal incidents.
One of these that attracted nationwide attention involved
22-year-old Ma Jiajue, a student of Yunnan University in the
southwest of China.
Ma, from?China's Guangxi
Zhuang Autonomous Region, killed four fellow students in his
dorm between February 13 and 15 and hid their bodies. They were
discovered there on February 23.
Police listed Ma as chief suspect and offered a 200,000 yuan
(US$24,000) reward to anyone providing information leading to his
apprehension.
Ma was captured on March 15 in south China's Hainan
Province after a local resident reported his whereabouts to
police. He was executed in June.
Last year, police forces also carried out a series of special
campaigns, Sun said, including a crackdown on pornographic websites
from July.
Through the three-month action, nearly all domestic pornographic
websites were shut down, said Wu Mingshan, vice director of the
ministry's public security management department at yesterday's
news conference.
Sun also asked the general public to be on the alert during the
coming Spring Festival.
He Ting, director of the ministry's criminal investigation
department, said many crimes are committed in the festival's lead
up.
Sun suggested that people report crimes to local police as soon
as possible, as this helps them collect clues and evidence in time,
solve cases and punish those responsible.
Wu gave reassurances that the nationwide campaign against
gambling launched in mid-January was not targeted at people who
play mahjong or cards with a little side bet as entertainment. The
anti-gambling crackdown will be continued until May.
Despite overall stability, Sun said there are still many public
security problems and serious violence such as bombings, murders
and kidnappings happen from time to time.
Police will further their efforts this year to maintain
stability in society, he added.
(China Daily February 4, 2005)