More aid pledged for victims of violent crime

China's top court pledged on Tuesday to provide financial aid to more victims of serious violent crimes in a bid to relieve the trauma stemming from those criminal offences.

Each year, some of the 3 million victims of crimes committed by poverty-stricken people may be able to benefit from the program approved by the Supreme People's Court, which included more cities in the current subsidy system.

The subsidies - targeted at those seriously injured or the relatives of those killed in violent crimes - are needed because people who commit violent crimes usually don't have the means to compensate the victims or their families.

The victims' families can face serious economic difficulties or even fall into poverty after losing a bread earner, said Shen Liang, deputy director of the Fourth Criminal Tribunal of the court.

The subsidy system has been rolled out in more than 20 provincial regions and cities after a trial program in 2009.

Since social and economic scenarios vary across China, the top court said it will allow provincial courts to work out their own subsidy standards.

Subsidies are usually about 36 months of the average salary in each region in the previous year.

In total, courts at all levels have provided subsidies amounting to more than 233.8 million yuan ($37 million) to about 13,000 victims or their families, said Sun Jungong, the top court's spokesman. The money comes from local financial departments.

Sun said that the top court's next move will be to help local courts establish specific legal frameworks to ensure a better implementation of the policy.

He added that pilot programs in places such as the Ningxia Hui autonomous region and Wuxi in Jiangsu province, have proved that such efforts are successful.

The regulation on subsidizing crime victims in Wuxi, which was put into effect in 2009, included migrant workers in the list, covering a larger population than before.

Wu Zhaochun, vice-president of Wuxi intermediate people's court, said the change closes a loophole, since two-thirds of the victims and criminal offenders in Wuxi are migrant workers.

Contact the writer at zhaoyinan@chinadaily.com.cn