Severely punish crimes that drive up prices in accordance with law, protect the stability of the people and promote development
Zheng Xinjian, member of the Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and director of the Fourth Procuratorate, answered a reporter's question on the joint release of typical cases of severe punishment for crimes involving price hikes according to law
Since the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, various types of illegal and criminal activities that have pushed up prices have seriously disrupted market order and hindered the advancement of the war. The Party Central Committee has a resolute attitude and has always listed such illegal crimes as the focus of crackdown. Procuratorial organs at all levels and public security organs earnestly implement the Party Central Committee ’s deployment requirements, give full play to their functions, strengthen coordination and cooperation, and strictly investigate and deal with illegal crimes that drive up the prices of epidemic prevention supplies and the price of civilian biological products, and provide prevention and control of epidemic situation and resumption of production Strong judicial protection. At present, the "epidemic" of war has reached the most strenuous stage. When the price is stable, the people will settle for it. We must always attach great importance to such behaviors that seriously disturb people ’s hearts and endanger the foundations of the “epidemic” of war, and punish them severely according to law and work together to prevent and control them. For this reason, on March 26, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security jointly issued a typical case of severely punishing crimes of raising prices according to law (the seventh batch of typical cases of new crown pneumonia cases handled by the national procuratorate according to law). Zheng Xinjian, member of the Procuratorate of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, director of the Fourth Procuratorate, and Gao Feng, director of the Second Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, jointly answered reporters' questions in this regard.
1. Question: At the most strenuous stage of the "epidemic" war, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security jointly released typical cases of severe punishment for crimes involving price hikes according to law. What are the main considerations?
Answer: This time, the two of us jointly issued a typical case of severe punishment for crimes involving price hikes. There are two main considerations. On the one hand, based on the serious social hazards of this type of criminal behavior, especially during the epidemic prevention period, the behavior of driving up prices, raising prices, destroying order, disturbing people's hearts, and endangering the victory of the "epidemic". Judging from the investigation of our case, the criminals used the basic materials during the epidemic prevention period, especially the shortage of epidemic prevention supplies, and the people's eagerness to prevent the epidemic. They raised the price several times, ten times or even dozens of times in the short term, earning huge profits, and severely damaged the extraordinary period. The market supply order has caused panic among the people. For example, in case two, the actor increased the masks from RMB 0.16 to RMB 0.28 each before the epidemic prevention to RMB 10 each, a rise of nearly 50 times. In another case, the actor will buy masks at 5.125 yuan per box, and sell them at a high price of 198 yuan per box, with a difference of nearly 193 yuan. In the current situation of epidemic prevention and control in China, and the recovery of production and living order is accelerating, some criminals have also taken advantage of the company's eagerness to resume work and resume production. Selling masks, forehead guns, disinfectants and other resumption of production at high prices will be necessary. Spare supplies, resale, and stockpiling of basic raw materials take the opportunity to drive up prices, increase the cost of resuming production and resume production, and increase the worry and anxiety of business operators, affecting the implementation of the Party Central Committee's implementation of resuming production and resume production.
On the other hand, since the "epidemic" of the war, in the face of various types of crimes that drive up prices, public security organs have gone deep into the front line, proactively attacked, and beat up early; procuratorial agencies have actively performed their duties, accurately identified, accused according to law, cooperated with both parties, and punished according to law This type of behavior is a powerful way to maintain social order. The four cases announced this time are the epitome of the joint efforts of procuratorial organs and public security organs, and also the important manifestations of political and legal organs in advancing epidemic prevention and control on the track of the rule of law. "A number of cases are a lively public lesson on the rule of law." We hope that through the form of joint release, we will strictly warn criminals in the current epidemic of war, not to be blinded by interests, to wipe out conscience, and to reach out and reach out must be punished. At the same time, we also hope that through the release of typical cases, we will reveal the characteristics, methods and harms of this type of criminal behavior, lead the implementation of the rule of law, and guide the public to create a strong atmosphere in the whole society that condemns and fights against price hikes. Let there be room for such behavior to breed and spread, and jointly ensure the ultimate victory of the war "epidemic"!
2. Question: How can the procuratorial organs and public security organs severely punish the illegal crimes that drive up prices during the epidemic prevention period?
Answer: During the epidemic prevention and control period, price-raising behaviors occurred from time to time, showing more serious social harm than usual. In response to this, the public security organs and procuratorates have resolutely implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech, carefully implemented the deployment requirements of the Party Central Committee and the Central Politics and Law Committee, strengthened information exchange and case coordination, and improved the case handling mechanism of integration, regional linkage, and rapid response. Persist in investigating and punishing in accordance with the law, severe punishment, joint prevention and control, vigorously crack down on and deter illegal acts, and maintain the stability of market order.
Public security organs at all levels have always maintained a high-pressure situation of various types of epidemic-related crimes, and continued to severely crack down on the criminal activities that disturbed market order, such as strong price hikes, hoarding, and profiteering, in accordance with the law, and effectively served to ensure the prevention and control of the epidemic. Carry out. During this period, the Ministry of Public Security and the General Administration of Market Supervision issued documents to guide local governments to strengthen the link between administrative price enforcement and criminal justice during epidemic prevention and control, and to punish punishment for price increases on protective equipment and people's livelihood commodities in accordance with laws and regulations. In accordance with deployment requirements, local public security organs are highly conscious of their political and action consciousness in epidemic prevention and control, maintaining stability, and cracking down on economic crimes, highlighting the convergence of intelligence guidance and investigation and the "two laws", and insisting on "fast, accurate, and cruel". The timely detection, investigation and punishment in accordance with the law, and the severe crackdown on criminal activities that used the epidemic to drive up prices, promptly detected a number of criminal cases involving suspected illegal operations, and effectively deterred such crimes.
Procuratorial organs at all levels, in conjunction with judicial case handling functions, actively intervene in the investigation and handling of price-rising cases, and jointly study and solve difficult problems in case handling. In handling cases, prosecutors thoroughly and intensively study and judge policy changes in response to current conditions, accurately grasp the boundaries between law and policy, pay attention to the combined effects of administrative punishment and criminal punishment, and determine the nature of acts in accordance with law. From the perspective of the procuratorial organs' case handling, the focus is on cracking down on cases with large price ranges, large amounts of money involved, and bad social impact, and using the warning significance of typical cases; for cases with lighter circumstances, proactively strengthen communication with the investigating authorities and administrative law enforcement agencies , Through administrative punishment, played a good effect. At the same time, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Supreme People's Court responded to grassroots frontline and public concerns in a timely manner regarding the application of laws in handling such cases, unified law enforcement and judicial standards, and guided the practice of case handling.
In the next step, procuratorial organs and public security organs at all levels will focus on making overall plans for epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, adhere to the people-centered political stance, and do a good job in epidemic prevention, risk prevention, security, and stability. The implementation of the measures will continue to maintain severe punishment for crimes that severely disrupt the order of epidemic prevention and control. In particular, those who behave badly, have serious circumstances, and cause great harm to the society must be investigated and dealt with strictly according to law. It should be noted that this severe punishment is not only reflected in convictions and sentencing, but also in the application of procedures. Those who take criminal detention or arrest must be adopted in accordance with the law in order to reflect the judicial value orientation of severe punishment and warn of the prevention of potential crime. To provide a strong guarantee of the rule of law for winning the battle against epidemic prevention and control and to ensure that enterprises resume work and resume production, and create a safe and stable social environment.
3. Question: At present, the situation of the epidemic prevention and control is positive and the localities are pushing forward the resumption of work and production in an orderly manner. In this context, what are the considerations and countermeasures for punishing behaviors that drive up prices?
A: At present, in the decisive phase of resolutely winning the epidemic prevention and control fight, the orderly promotion of resumption of work and production, and the increase in the supply of epidemic prevention materials, biological products and production materials, will consolidate and develop the hard-won epidemic prevention momentum and promote It is essential that economic and social development is on a normal track. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the people's livelihood is stable, the human heart is stable, and the society is stable. During the resumption of work and resumption of production, maintaining the stability of the price of materials, especially those related to people's livelihood, is a "ballast stone" for the stability of the people and society. Therefore, during the period of resumption of work and resumption of production, maintaining severe punishment for illegal behaviors that drive up prices is not only the legal responsibility of political and legal organs, but also a political responsibility that affects the stability of the public. Both the procuratorial organs and public security organs must take the initiative to perform their duties, actively and effectively in accordance with the law, promptly open up the “blocking points”, and orderly resume work and resume production.
Compared with the previous period, during the resumption of work and resumption of production, the procuratorial organs and public security organs adjusted the focus of case handling according to changes in the situation, focused on promoting the resumption of production and cooperation in all aspects of the industrial chain, deepened the frontline of production and operation to understand the needs of the enterprise, and focused on increasing The punishment for driving up the price of key urgently needed materials, such as masks, forehead guns, disinfectant and other protective supplies necessary for the resumption of production and resumption of production, and the raw materials such as meltblown cloth required to produce these protective supplies, focus on increasing the The punishment for coercion, network coercion, and the use of market advantages to promote coercion will not allow the high price of coercion to become a "stopper" for enterprises to resume work and resume production. At the same time, we are also paying close attention to the impact of resumption of work and production on the relationship between supply and demand in the market. We must adhere to simultaneous tracking and timely crackdown on behaviors that promote the necessities of life, such as grains, oils, meat, eggs, and vegetables, and resolutely maintain the normal order of the market and ensure the normal life of the people.
4. Question: We have noticed that law enforcement and judicial authorities have recently focused on cracking down on the price of meltblown cloth, and have achieved positive results. There are also cases involving meltblown cloth in the typical cases released this time. Can you give some highlights on this? ?
Answer: Meltblown non-woven fabric (abbreviated as meltblown) is called the "heart" of the mask, which is the filter layer in the middle of the mask, which can effectively block and adsorb viruses and bacteria, and is the key raw material for the production of masks. In the current international and domestic epidemic prevention and control situation, masks are an indispensable product for front-line protection, resumption of business, and public travel, which has created a huge demand for rigidity and has become a strategic material for epidemic prevention and control. As a key raw material, meltblown cloth has high production conditions and slow expansion in the short term. Some criminals took advantage of the opportunity to resell it, causing the price to increase rapidly and even appearing. The situation seriously affects the production of masks and the deployment of epidemic prevention, and the harm is very serious. Our rapid response to this mainly includes the following arrangements and considerations.
First, cooperate closely and quickly attack. After discovering such illegal and criminal phenomena, the public security organs concentrated their efforts on their own initiative, and the procuratorial organs closely followed up and actively cooperated to quickly break through and investigate a number of cases. The first case released this time is an example of our recent joint fight against illegal crimes that drive up the price of meltblown cloth. It should be said that the joint crackdown by the procuratorial organs and public security organs has effectively deterred criminals. Initial results have been achieved. In the next step, we and our two parties must make persistent efforts to continue to maintain a severe punishment situation, work together to investigate and handle cases, and resolutely prevent such illegal acts from rising.
Secondly, highlight the key points and play early. The method of driving up the price of meltblown cloth is mainly manifested in resale and resale, which also includes some hoarding behaviors. In general, the longer the chain of resale of resale, the higher the price will be. The longer the meltblown cloth enters the factory and puts it into production, the greater the impact on the supply of epidemic prevention materials. In view of this behavioral characteristics and harmfulness, we should not just look at the extent of the upsurge in each link. Instead, we should comprehensively determine that "the amount of illegal gains is large" and "the amount of illegal gains" and " "Other serious plots", insisting on highlighting the key points, playing early and playing small, cutting off the "black hands" that hindered the supply of meltblown cloth as soon as possible, opening up the "blocks" in market circulation, and ensuring that key raw materials enter the production link in a timely manner.
Finally, punish severely according to the law, with special effect. Judging from the handling of the case, most of the people who pushed up the price of meltblown cloth were resellers who resold it in the middle and took advantage of the epidemic prevention mechanism to make a big profit. These people specifically raised the price in response to the urgently needed shortage of materials and entered the market to "suck blood". Today they target the meltblown cloth, and tomorrow they may target other materials. In the current critical period of epidemic prevention, this kind of behavior that violates the human rights of heaven and the country must be severely punished in accordance with the law in order to be effective.
5. Question: What can the public, enterprises, and industry associations do in terms of brainstorming, group prevention, and group control?
Answer: "Effective management" is one aspect of effective price-raising behavior. This is an important responsibility that law enforcement and judicial departments need to shoulder. "Prevention" and "control" are another aspect. In this issue, all parties in the society need to strengthen cooperation and shoulder their respective responsibilities.
First of all, for the common people, it is necessary to strengthen their awareness of rights protection. For the price-raising behaviors found in daily life, evidence can be retained through screen captures of mobile phones and purchase invoices, etc., and clues can be provided to relevant departments so that criminals can take advantage. At the same time, with the gradual increase in the current market volume of epidemic prevention supplies, you can try to buy from regular channels and platforms to guard against high-price “traps”.
Secondly, for the majority of operators, "gentleman loves money". During the epidemic prevention period, business activities must not only abide by the laws and regulations, but also abide by the bottom line of ethics, operate in compliance with the law, operate with integrity, provide quality services to the public, and make their own contributions to epidemic prevention. For industry associations, especially those producing anti-epidemic supplies and daily necessities, they should actively guide business operators to establish the correct business philosophy, encourage enterprises to fulfill their social responsibilities, and increase the exposure, condemnation and punishment of illegal business practices in the industry, and inject them into society. Positive energy to jointly promote epidemic prevention and control and resume production.
Finally, we also want to make some suggestions for the managers of online and e-commerce platforms. Judging from our case handling, the vast majority of price-raising actions are carried out through the Internet, and even on some networks and e-commerce platforms, they are even open and persistent. For example, in case three, the actor competed through four online stores to raise prices, and the illegal operation amounted to more than 8 million yuan. In this regard, as an e-commerce platform manager, it is necessary to assume regulatory responsibilities and increase the statistical analysis and comparison of the prices of traded goods through various methods such as big data analysis and artificial intelligence monitoring. Businesses should promptly remind and take restraint measures in a timely manner to prevent micro-fading, so that price-raising behavior has nowhere to hide in cyberspace.