Law on compelled prostitution clarified

An interpretation on Criminal Law provisions was released on Sunday, setting the rules for court trials regarding the crime of compelling prostitution.

The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate, China's top court and prosecution agency, jointly issued the legal interpretation, making clear that forcing children under age 14 into prostitution is categorized as a "serious violation" under the crime of compelling prostitution.

The stipulation underscored that the severity of the violation does not require multiple children being forced into prostitution. The interpretation stipulated that the act constitutes a serious violation as long as a child under age 14 is compelled to be a prostitute.

Under China's Criminal Law, serious violations of compelling prostitution are punishable by 10 years to life in prison.

According to an official of the Criminal Adjudication Tribunal No 4 at the Supreme People's Court, the interpretation was issued to protect vulnerable groups such as minors, pregnant women and people who are intellectually impaired.

"The interpretation also made a distinction between luring people into prostitution and providing places for or introducing people to prostitution," said the official who did not wish to be identified.

Luring a person to engage in prostitution constitutes a crime, and providing places for or introducing at least two people constitutes a crime.

The official said organizing more than 10 people to prostitute and organizing more than five people from vulnerable groups or who have venereal diseases constitute serious violations of the crimes of organizing or compelling prostitution.

According to the interpretation, those who have AIDS are likely to face severe penalties if they transmitted the disease to others through prostitution when they were aware of their illness, which should be considered as the crime of intentional injury.

The document, which will take effect on Tuesday, also stipulated those who lure people into prostitution, provide places for prostitution and introduce prostitution could be convicted of the crime even if they haven't profited from it.