China's top legislature is expected to amend the Criminal Law in an effort to crack down on the increasing credit card fraud and sabotage of military equipment.

The draft amendment to the Criminal Law was submitted Friday to the 14th session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee for the second deliberation.

"Our committee agreed that the draft is basically feasible and suggested that it be approved in this session," said Qiao Xiaoyang, deputy director of the NPC Law Committee.

Credit card fraud in China has been rampant in recent years. Domestic criminals working with overseas accomplices have become adept at creating, transporting, selling and using fake credit cards. However, the current Criminal Law does not have specific clause on credit card fraud.

The draft adds new clauses on credit card fraud and enlarges the range of the definition of "credit card" in the Criminal Law. It also introduces more severe punishments.

Also in the draft submitted, a new clause was added to punish military telecommunications equipment sabotage.

The new clause says that even unpremeditated sabotage of military telecommunications will be grounds for imprisonment of less than three years. And if the circumstances are serious, the punishment will be more severe.

The draft once submitted for the first deliberation included five new clauses, but the latest draft only involves three clauses.

Because the draft law governing offenses against public order and draft law on enterprises bankruptcy are still under deliberation, the new draft omits two clauses on illegal begging and cheating in bankrupt liquidation, according to the NPC Law Committee.

"The two clauses should be added into the Criminal Law after the approval of the related laws," said Qiao.

China's Criminal Law was adopted in July 1979 and amended on a large scale by in March 1997.
 
(Xinhua News Agency February 26, 2005)