On April 18, 2016, China’s Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate jointly issued implementation guidelines on the penalty for corruption cases under the China’s Criminal Law Amendment (9). The penalty became effective in November 2015.
The guidelines explained that a maximum penalty of immediate capital punishment will be allowed in an “extremely serious” case in which bribes and embezzlement involve 3 million yuan or more. If the death penalty is considered too harsh for a specific convict, then a life sentence without parole may be issued. The statement provided that the death sentence may be suspended for two years if there are mitigating factors.
The guideline stressed that the “crimes of corruption and bribery must be severely punished according to the law.”
Source: Xinhua, April 18, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2016-04/18/c_1118650975.htm