Some of China's lawmakers debating a criminal code amendment
want much tougher penalties for people found responsible for
industrial accidents than the draft amendment calls for.
The draft of the Sixth Amendment to Criminal Code, which is
getting its second reading at the ongoing 21 session of the
Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), calls
for sentences of up to ten years for those convicted of causing
fatal industrial accidents. "Considering the country's current
rampant industrial accidents, the penalty is still moderate.
Leniency is leading to a lax attitude in work safety," said Wang
Tao, member of the NPC Standing Committee.
He suggests people who seek profits at the cost of a worker's
life should face life imprisonment.
Wang Maolin, member of the NPC Standing Committee said some
local governments have repeatedly ordered unsafe coal mines to
close but those orders are often ignored.
"Under such circumstances, we must punish coal mine owners
through legal means," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 27, 2006)
