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)