A vice president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) of China on Tuesday ordered courts across the nation to handle drunk driving cases prudently and avoid generalizing such a conviction.

Zhang Jun, vice president of the SPC, made the remark at a national workshop on trials of criminal cases held in Chongqing of southwest China.

Zhang said that conviction should not be solely based upon whether the incident met the criteria of drunk driving.

According to the recently revised Criminal Law, if a hazardous behavior is insignificant and causes slight harm, it will not be considered a criminal offense, said Zhang.

The Criminal Law stipulates that all drunk driving incidents are considered to be criminal offenses, without making the severity of such consequences a prerequisite for conviction, according to Zhang.

Courts across China on Monday sentenced to jail at least nine drunk drivers who were the first group to be caught after the newly amended Criminal Law penalizing drunk driving took effect on May 1.