Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate, Opinion on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Commercial Bribery

(3) crime of acceptance of a bribe (Article 385 of the Criminal Law);

(4) crime of acceptance of a bribe by work units (Article 387 of the Criminal Law);

(5) crime of offering a bribe (Article 389 of the Criminal Law);

(6) crime of offering a bribe to work units (Article 391 of the Criminal Law);

(7) crime of introducing a bribe (Article 392 of the Criminal Law); and

(8) crime of offering a bribe by work units (Article 393 of the Criminal Law).

The Opinion also explains that the phrase “working personnel in companies, enterprises or other work units” specified in Articles 163 and 164 of the Criminal Law includes non-state working personnel in state-owned companies, enterprises and other state-owned work units.

Articles 4 to 6 elaborate the definition of commercial bribery crimes in medical institutions, schools and other educational institutions, invitation for and submission of bids, and government procurement.

According to Article 7, properties in commercial bribery include money and articles, and also property interests that can be quantified in monetary terms such as providing fees for housing renovation, membership with an amount balance, tokens (in the form of card or coupon), and travel expenses. Specific amounts shall refer to the sum actually paid.

When trying criminal cases involving commercial bribery, courts shall pay attention to the boundary between bribery and gift giving by conducting an overall analysis and comprehensive judgment in light of the following factors:

(1) background to the property transaction such as whether the parties are relatives or friends, and the details and closeness of their relationships in the past;

(2) the value of the property;

(3) the reasons for, and the time and method of, the property transaction, and whether the property provider has made any request to the recipient in relation to the recipient's job position; and;

(4) whether the recipient of the property has abused his/her position to seek benefits for the property provider (Article 10).

Related Legislation: PRC Criminal Law (Revised)[excerpts], Dec 25 1999, CLP 1997 No.5 p.39