A draft judicial interpretation spells out the circumstances in
which life sentences or the death penalty can be meted out to
producers or sellers of fake drugs who cause "very serious damage"
to public health.
If fake drugs cause serious deformities or bodily harm to more
than three people, or slight injury to more than 10 people,
producers or sellers may have to be subject to such penalties,
according to a draft rule made public by the State Food and Drug
Administration (SFDA) on Wednesday for public comment.
The move comes amid intensified efforts to strengthen drug
safety.
The Criminal Law stipulates that producers and sellers of fake
drugs could face life imprisonment or capital punishment if their
drugs cause "very serious damage" to public health or death, but it
fails to define what the "very serious" damage is, posing
difficulties for courts handling such cases.
The draft, jointly written by the Supreme People's Court and the
Supreme People's Procuratorate, also stipulates that those who
produce and sell substandard drugs that cause death, deformities or
injuries may face life imprisonment.
It says if such cases happen during natural disasters or public
health emergencies, violators will receive relatively heavier
sentences within the scope of the law.
Hospitals that purchase, store or use drugs they know to be fake
or substandard will face criminal charges as well, according to the
draft.
If passed, the interpretation will be the country's first
detailed guidelines on how to handle criminal cases of producing or
selling fake drugs, but there is no timetable for its adoption,
according to the administration's policy and legislation
department.
SFDA officials reached yesterday did not want to comment on the
draft interpretation, saying there may be changes before it is
adopted.
The government has come under great pressure to overhaul the
food and drug safety system after a series of controversies caused
by shoddy products and corruption scandals involving high-ranking
SFDA officials.
Zheng Xiaoyu, former SFDA director, was executed in July for
corruption and dereliction of duty.
One of the most notorious cases of bogus drugs was that of
Qiqihar No 2 Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, a privately-owned business in
Heilongjiang Province, whose fake Armillarisin A injections killed
13 people.
(China Daily November 30, 2007)