NCJ Number
203615
Journal
International Criminal Justice Review Volume: 13 Dated: 2003 Pages: 28-49
Date Published
2003
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This analysis of corruption-related, white-collar crimes in China focuses on the nature and characteristics of corruption offenses, the relevant laws, and the criminal justice responses to these crimes.
Abstract
The study involved a review of the 1,554 criminal court corruption-related cases adjudicated between 1986 and 2001. The definition of corruption as a distinct type of crime is found in an independent section of the current Criminal Law and includes three offenses: graft, bribe-taking, and embezzlement. Graft involves state workers or individuals entrusted by governmental institutions and entities taking advantage of their employment positions by seeking payment for their services or illegally accepting payment in return for favors. In this study of the cases adjudicated between 1986 and 2001, "corruption" was the major independent variable as defined in Chinese law. The dependent variables involved four legal outcomes: pretrial detention, the likelihood of acquittal, the likelihood of imprisonment, and the length of sentence. Univariate and bivariate analyses were used to describe and assess the relationships between independent and dependent variables for corruption and noncorruption cases. Multivariate regression analyses were used to determine the impact of the predictor variables on four types of legal decisions. The 1,554 corruption cases were compared with 1,359 noncorruption cases. Compared with noncorruption defendants, corruption defendants were older, were more likely to be residents, and were more likely to have high-status occupations. Few corruption defendants in the sample had criminal records, and only about half had legal representation. In addition, most corruption crimes were committed by multiple offenders. The conviction rate for corruption cases was 60.5 percent, which was much lower than for noncorruption offenses (84.5 percent). Although the conviction rate for corruption offenders in China was comparable to that in the West, the Chinese corruption offenders received much more severe punishment; an overwhelming majority of the corruption offenders in China received a prison sentence, and most served more than 5 years, were imprisoned for life, or received the death penalty. Defendants in high-status jobs were much more likely to receive bail before trial, to be acquitted, and to receive a nonprison sentence upon conviction. Suggestions are offered for future research. 3 tables and 58 references