Judicial Interpretations on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Laws in Hearing Criminal Cases in Respect of the Sabotage of Radio and Television Facilities

(Adopted on May 23，2011 at the1523th Meeting of the Judicial Committee of the Supreme People's Court，Promulgated on June 7，2011 by the Supreme People's Court as SPC Interpretation No.(2011)13 and effective as of June 13，2011)

In order to punish，in accordance with laws，criminal activities involving the sabotage of radio and television facilities and to safeguard the operation of radio and television facilities，the Supreme People's Court hereby sets forth these interpretations on several issues concerning the application of laws in hearing criminal cases of this kind as follows:

Article 1　Whoever sabotages radio and television facilities that are in use，bymeans of dismantling or destroying the apparatus，cutting off the cables，deleting，altering or increasing the data stored on radio and television equipment，processing the transmitted data and applications，occupying the frequencies(etc.)by illegitimatemeans，shall be convicted of Sabotaging the Radio and Television Facilities and sentenced a fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years and notmore than 7 years，in accordance with Paragraph 1 of Article 124 of the Criminal Law，in each of the following circumstances:

(1)where information relating to disaster relief，emergency relief，flood defense，disaster warning and othermajor public information fail to be publicized as a result;

(2)where the facilities and signals directly in relation to the program broadcasts of country-wide and municipality-wide radio and television stations are unable to be used or broadcast as a result;

(3)where the facilities within province-wide and above level radio and television transmission networks are unable to be used，or those within themunicipality-wide radio and television transmission network are unable to be used for a period ofmore than 3 hours，or those within the county-wide radio and television transmission network are unable to be used for a period ofmore than 12 hours，with signals being unable to be broadcast as a result;and

(4)where other circumstances that endanger the public safety are caused.

Article 2　In each of the following circumstances，those who conduct the acts prescribed in Article 1 hereof shall be identified as“having caused severe consequences”provided in Paragraph 1 of Article 124 of the Criminal Law and shall be sentenced a fixed term imprisonment of not less than 7 years with the accusation of Sabotaging the Radio and Television Facilities:

(1)where，as a result，information relating to disaster and emergency relief，flood defense，disaster warnings and other major public information fails to be publicized，and adversely affects the elimination of the danger and the evacuation of the residents，causing the death of at least 1 person or serious injuries to at least 3 persons，or property damage of at least RMB 500，000，or serious social panic or disorder;

(2)where facilities and signals directly in relation to the program broadcasting of provincial-and-above-level radio and television stations are unable to be used or broadcast as a result;

(3)where，as a result，facilities within the provincial-and-above-level radio and television transmission network are unable to be used for a period of not less than 3 hours，or those within themunicipal(with districts)level radio and television transmission network are unable to be used for a period of not less than 12 hours，or thosewithin the county-level radio and television transmission network are unable to be used for a period of not less than 48 hours，with signals being unable to be broadcast;or

(4)where other severe consequences are caused.

Article 3　Whoever damages radio and television facilities that are in use by negligence，causing severe consequences as prescribed in Article 2 hereof shall，in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Article 124 of the Criminal Law，be convicted of Damaging Radio and Television Facilities through Negligence，and be sentenced to a fixed term imprisonmentof not less than 3 years and notmore than 7 years;where the circumstances areminor，the foregoing shall be sentenced to a fixed term of imprisonment of not more than 3 years or criminal detention.

Those who negligently damage radio and television facilities to the extent that it constitutes a crime，but are able to report this to the relevant authorities of their own accord，and actively pay compensation for the losses or repair the damaged facilities，may be given leniency in consideration of the circumstances.

Article 4　Management personnel and construction workers of the building or construction unit which，during construction，violates the radio and television facility protection provisions and intentionally or negligently damages or sabotages radio and television facilities that are in use，to the extent that it constitutes the crime，shall be convicted of Sabotaging the Radio and Television Facilities or Damaging the Radio and Television Facilities through Negligence and be sentenced in accordance with the standards prescribed by Article 1 to Article 3 hereof.

Article 5　Those who steal radio and television facilities that are in use，where it does not yet constitute theft，but satisfies the circumstances prescribed in the Article 1 and Article 2 hereof，shall be convicted of Sabotaging Radio and Television Facilities and sentenced accordingly;where it constitutes the crime of theftaswell as that of Sabotaging the Radio and Television Facilities，the foregoing shall be convicted and sentenced in accordance with the provisionswhich prescribe themore severe penalties.

Article 6　Those who cause damage to the radio and television facilities that are in use without endangering public safety，or intentionally destroy radio and television facilities that have not been put into service，causing property damage of a relatively large amount or with other serious repercussions，shall be convicted of Intentionally Destroying Property，and sentenced accordingly.

Article 7　Those who commit the crime of sabotaging radio and television facilities，and by means of using the radio and television facilities instigate to split the country or subvert state power，incite ethnic hatred or discrimination，propagate heathendom or implement other acts，which constitute crimes in their own right，shall be convicted and sentenced in accordance with the provisions which prescribe themore severe penalties.

Article 8　The facilities directly relating to program broadcasts of radio and television stations or within the radio and television transmission networks referred to herein shall be determined with reference to the relevant provisions of the state radio and television administration authorities and other related authorities.