On The Modification Of Theft In Criminal Law Amendment(â…§)

Article39of the Criminal Law Amendment (VIII) changed the relevantprovisions of the Criminal Law on Theft. The changes are mainly reflected in twoaspects: first, burglary, theft of carrying a weapon, pick-pocketing are treated as crime;second, the death penalty on theft is abolished. The reasons that this three types ofbehaviour are criminalized are different: burglary infringe dual interests protected bylaw; theft of carrying a weapon threaten citizens’ personal safety and pick-pocketingbehaviour have become increasingly rampant. Only when relevant behaviours meet theelements of crime can they be identified as burglary, theft of carrying a weapon andpick-pocketing. The abolition of death penalty on theft will not bring large fluctuationsin China’s overall stability and security situation. The behavior of burglary, theft oncarrying a weapon and pick-pocketing should not be simply considered illegal but bejudged comprehensively combining theft provision and the proviso of article13of theCriminal Law.