More than 40 percent of those accused of graft or corruption in
Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, are under 45 years old,
showing more young people are committing these crimes than before,
the Guangzhou judicial bureau has said.
Such criminals include government officials or employees at
large companies, who abuse their power in order to commit illegal
activities.
In a survey by the Guangzhou judicial bureau, from 2000 to 2006,
there were 2,158 criminal cases, involving 2,264 criminals.
Of these, 673 involved people younger than 45 years old,
accounting for 41.9 percent of criminal cases.
"Most (of these) criminals are smart, have good educational
backgrounds and high-ranking positions," Lu Tiefeng, director of
the Guangzhou judicial bureau, said.
In the past, such criminals were usually around 60 years old.
"Because they were going to retire they stole money for their
post-retirement life," Lu said.
Things are different today, he said. Some young people have
unrealistic expectations about their income and future. They pursue
luxurious lifestyles, but when they encounter failure or
frustration they lose confidence and consider criminal
behavior.
These kinds of cases usually occurred in State-owned
enterprises, architecture organizations and government departments,
Lu said.
The people's prosecutors' office of Guangzhou said a Guangzhou
man, Liu Ruihan, 28, who graduated from college four years ago,
misappropriated 27 million yuan ($3.5 million) of public money. He
was given a life sentence.
"Another motive for this criminal activity is some young people
have large loans when they graduate from school, or they have to
take care of their family. They steal money to ease their financial
burdens," Qiu Ling, an official from the anti-corruption division
of the prosecutors' office of Guangzhou, said.
(China Daily December 5, 2007)