Victims of violent crimes like murder and rape could receive
compensation from the State under a proposed relief system aimed at
better protecting victims' rights.
The measure, considered a big step forward for the country's
legal system, is one of the items on the agenda of the Supreme
People's Court (SPC) this year, according to SPC President Xiao Yang.
He said on Sunday at a conference in the eastern city of Jinan
that it would be difficult for some victims of crimes to receive
their just compensation without a system of strong safeguards in
place.
"Without such a system, the courtrooms will be nothing more than
an arena for legal professionals to exercise their litigation
skills", Xiao said.
Under the Criminal Procedure Law, victims who suffer material
losses because of a crime have the right to seek compensation by
filing an incidental civil action alongside the criminal
proceedings.
But because the clause is general and because some defendants
cannot afford to pay damages, victims often fail to recover what
should be paid, even after arduous litigation, according to Chen
Guangzhong, a professor of Criminal Procedure Law at the China
University of Political Science and Law.
"Even if the victims get some compensation, it is often too
little for what they've suffered," the professor said.
The murder committed by Qiu Xinghua is a case in point. The
provincial high court in northwest China's Shaanxi Province last
month ordered the execution of Qiu, a 47-year-old farmer who killed
11 people and seriously injured two others in July. However, the
court did not accept compensation requests from the victims'
families because the murderer's family was too poor to pay.
"I cannot imagine how life will go on," Yin Xingqiao, the wife
of a victim, told local media. Her husband, the family's sole
breadwinner, was hacked to death, leaving her alone with three
shabby rooms and a 10-year-old son.
The wife said the compensation was more important to her than
the death sentence because she would have to find a way to support
her family. Local media reported that Yin appealed to the local
government for help after the verdict was handed down, but received
only 500 yuan ($64) far short of the amount necessary for a decent
funeral.
Chen said that in some other countries, the State would
compensate the victims in such circumstances.
(China Daily January 9, 2007)