Criminal penalty for delinquents in question

Teacher Ruan Hua (R) talks with a delinquent juvenile offender in a correctional center in Hefei, East China's Anhui province, May 4, 2011. Four teachers at a local elementary school visited the center ahead of Mother's Day to talk to offenders. It was reported that most of the delinquent juveniles committed crimes because a lack of proper education and parental care.[Photo/Xinhua]

A 13-YEAR-OLD BOY in Southwest China's Sichuan province severely burnt the face of a 24-year-old woman by throwing gasoline on her and setting it alight, while trying to rob her of her cellphone. The woman was severely hurt, yet the boy did not receive any criminal penalty because of his age. It is time to lower the minimum age for criminal responsibility, comments Southern Metropolis Daily:

What happened in Sichuan is not an isolated incident. One month ago, a 13-year-old boy in Southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region killed three people, but the "punishment" he received was only rectification for three years in a center for juvenile delinquents. Last October, three pupils killed a female teacher, yet they received the same light penalty, as they all were under 14 when committing the crime, which is the threshold for criminal responsibility.

The Law on Protection of Minors, which says that those under the age of 14 will not face criminal charges even if they commit a serious crime, has loopholes. Some experts defend it by saying that minors are not so cruel and should be given the chance of being re-educated, but when youngsters commit crimes such as murder, This argument no longer stands.

Internationally, it is also common practice to give minors their deserved penalties when they commit severe crimes such as rape, murder, or robbery. For example, in the United States, some states treat the minors that commit certain severe crimes the same as adults and make rulings equally; some states will consider whether the delinquents are frequent criminal offenders, if they are, they will receive the same punishments as adults.

It is time for China to consider revising the Law on Protection of Minors. The law should protect all people, not just minors only, and it should not become an excuse for minors to escape punishment for their crimes. The law may actually encourage young people to commit crimes as they know they will not be subject to the same penalties as adults.