Gov tempers justice with mercy in amended Criminal Law

But white collar crime will still be punished severely, Teng said. Under the new rules, bribery would remain a capital offence.

“It’s not time to abolish such [punishments for] financial crime given its huge impact on society,” Teng said.

Teng said the country may eventually abolish the death penalties completely, but that “there is still some ways to go.”

It is not known when the draft will become law. The amendment will be examined in a bimonthly session of the National People’s Congress this week. In most cases, before a draft law is adopted, it must be read by the Standing Committee two or three times.

At least 1,252 people were reportedly executed in 24 countries in 2007: 88 percent of the executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the US, The Guardian reported.

More than 90 countries have abolished the death penalty: 40 countries that still have the death penalty on their books have not used it for more than a decade, said Liu Mingxiang, deputy dean at the law school of Renmin University of China.

The abolition of the death penalty has not led to a rise in crime in those countries which abolished it, Liu said.