Legal provisions on the crime of picking quarrels and provoking troubles

Article 293 of the Criminal Law [Crime of Picking Quarrels and provoking Trouble]

[Crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble]

Whoever commits any of the following acts of picking quarrels and provoking troubles, thus disrupting public order, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention or public surveillance:

(1) beating another person at will and the circumstances are egregious;

(2) chasing, intercepting, verbally abusing or intimidating others, and the circumstances are egregious;

(3) Forcibly taking public or private property or willfully destroying or occupying it, if the circumstances are serious;

(4) making disturbances in public places, causing serious disorder in public places.

Whoever assembles others to repeatedly commit the acts mentioned in the preceding paragraph, thus seriously disrupting public order, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than 10 years and may also be fined.

[Pre-amendment provision]

Article 293 Whoever commits any of the following acts of picking quarrels and provoking troubles, thus disrupting public order, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention or public surveillance:

(1) beating another person at will and the circumstances are egregious;

(2) chasing, intercepting or verbally abusing others, in egregious circumstances;

(3) Forcibly taking public or private property or willfully destroying or occupying it, if the circumstances are serious;

(4) making disturbances in public places, causing serious disorder in public places.

【 Amendment note 】

Article 42 of Amendment (8) to the Criminal Law makes the following amendments to the original provisions: First, the act of "intimidating" others is added after the original second item "chasing, intercepting and abusing"; The second is the addition of a collection of other people repeatedly carry out the act of picking quarrels and provoking troubles to seriously disrupt social order.

【 Judicial Interpretation I 】

Provisions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security on Standards for Filing and prosecuting Criminal Cases under the Jurisdiction of Public Security Organs (1) [Gongtong Zi [2008] 36, 20080625. As amended by the Supplementary Provisions of the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security on the Standards for Filing and Prosecuting Criminal Cases under the Jurisdiction of Public Security Organs (I), issued on April 27, 2017 (Gongtong Zi [2017] 12)]

Article 37 (Case of Picking Quarrels and provoking Troubles (Article 293 of the Criminal Law)) where a person arbitrarily strikes another person and disrupts social order, suspected of any of the following circumstances, a case shall be filed for prosecution:

(1) causing one or more minor injuries or two or more minor injuries;

(2) causing serious consequences such as insanity or suicide in another person;

(3) repeatedly beating others at will;

(4) arbitrarily beating another person with a weapon;

(5) arbitrarily beating mentally ill persons, disabled persons, vagrants and beggars, the elderly, pregnant women and minors, causing adverse social impact;

(6) beating another person at will in a public place, causing serious disorder in public place;

(7) other egregious circumstances.

Chase, intercept, abuse, intimidate others, disrupt social order, suspected of one of the following circumstances, shall be filed for prosecution:

(1) Repeatedly chasing, intercepting, abusing or intimidating others, causing adverse social impact;

(2) chasing, intercepting, abusing or intimidating others with weapons;

(3) chasing, intercepting, abusing or intimidating mentally ill persons, disabled persons, vagrants and beggars, the elderly, pregnant women or minors, causing adverse social impact;

(4) causing serious consequences such as insanity or suicide in another person;

(5) seriously affecting the work, life, production or business operation of others;

(6) other egregious circumstances.

Anyone who forcibly takes or arbitrarily destroys or occupies public or private property, disrupts social order, and is suspected of any of the following circumstances shall file a case for prosecution:

(1) Forcibly taking public or private property worth more than 1,000 yuan, or arbitrarily damaging or occupying public or private property worth more than 2,000 yuan;

(2) repeatedly forcibly taking or arbitrarily destroying or occupying public or private property, causing adverse social impact;

(3) forcibly taking or arbitrarily damaging or destroying or occupying property of mentally ill persons, disabled persons, vagrants and beggars, the elderly, pregnant women or minors, causing adverse social impact;

(4) causing serious consequences such as insanity or suicide in another person;

(5) seriously affecting the work, life, production or business operation of others;

(6) other serious circumstances.

In the case of disturbances in stations, wharves, airports, hospitals, shopping malls, parks, theaters, exhibitions, sports arenas or other public places, a comprehensive judgment shall be made on the nature of the public places, the importance of the public activities, the number of people in the public places, the time of disturbances, the scope and extent of the public places affected, and other factors to determine whether they have caused serious disorder in the public places.

【 Judicial Interpretation II 】

Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Picking Quarrels and Provoking Troubles (Legal Interpretation [2013] No. 18, 20130722)

Article 1 A person who intentionally seeks stimulation, vents his emotions, acts of concealment, acts of violence, etc., and carries out the acts provided for in Article 293 of the Criminal Law shall be identified as "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."

Where the perpetrator, due to occasional contradictions and disputes in daily life, uses an excuse to carry out the acts prescribed in Article 293 of the Criminal Law, he shall be identified as "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", except where the contradiction is intentionally triggered by the victim or the victim bears primary responsibility for the intensification of the contradiction.

Where a perpetrator, due to a dispute over marriage, love, family, neighborhood, debt, etc., commits an act of beating, verbally abusing, intimidating others, or damaging or occupying other people's property, it is generally not considered as "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", except where he continues to carry out the preceding acts after being criticized and stopped or punished by the relevant departments, disrupting social order.

Article 2 A person who arbitrarily beats another person or disrupts social order, under any of the following circumstances, shall be identified as "egregious circumstances" as provided for in the first paragraph of Article 293 of the Criminal Law:

(1) causing one or more minor injuries or two or more minor injuries;

(2) causing serious consequences such as insanity or suicide in another person;

(3) repeatedly beating others at will;

(4) arbitrarily beating another person with a weapon;

(5) arbitrarily beating mentally ill persons, disabled persons, vagrants and beggars, the elderly, pregnant women and minors, causing adverse social impact;

(6) beating another person at will in a public place, causing serious disorder in public place;

(7) other egregious circumstances.

Article 3 Any person who pursues, intercepts, insults or intimidates others, or disrupts social order, under any of the following circumstances, shall be deemed to have "egregious circumstances" as provided for in paragraph 1 (2) of Article 293 of the Criminal Law:

(1) Repeatedly chasing, intercepting, abusing or intimidating others, causing adverse social impact;

(2) chasing, intercepting, abusing or intimidating others with weapons;

(3) chasing, intercepting, abusing or intimidating mentally ill persons, disabled persons, vagrants and beggars, the elderly, pregnant women or minors, causing adverse social impact;

(4) causing serious consequences such as insanity or suicide in another person;

(5) seriously affecting the work, life, production or business operation of others;

(6) other egregious circumstances.

Article 4 Anyone who forcibly takes or arbitrarily destroys or occupies public or private property, disrupts social order, under any of the following circumstances, shall be identified as "serious circumstances" as provided for in paragraph 1, paragraph 3, of Article 293 of the Criminal Law:

(1) Forcibly taking public or private property worth more than 1,000 yuan, or arbitrarily damaging or occupying public or private property worth more than 2,000 yuan;

(2) repeatedly forcibly taking or arbitrarily destroying or occupying public or private property, causing adverse social impact;

(3) forcibly taking or arbitrarily damaging or destroying or occupying property of mentally ill persons, disabled persons, vagrants and beggars, the elderly, pregnant women or minors, causing adverse social impact;

(4) causing serious consequences such as insanity or suicide in another person;

(5) seriously affecting the work, life, production or business operation of others;

(6) other serious circumstances.

Article 5 In the case of disturbances at stations, wharves, airports, hospitals, shopping malls, parks, cinemas, theatres, exhibitions, sports grounds or other public places, they shall be based on factors such as the nature of the public place, the importance of the public activity, the number of people in the public place, the time of disturbances, and the scope and extent of the disturbance in the public place. Comprehensive judgment whether "cause serious disorder in public place order".

Article 6 Whoever assembles another person to commit the crime of picking quarrels and provoking troubles three or more times and is not dealt with shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 293 of the Criminal Law.

Article 7 Whoever commits acts of picking quarrels and provoking troubles, which simultaneously meet the constitutive elements of the crime of picking quarrels and provoking troubles, the crime of intentional homicide, the crime of intentional injury, the crime of intentional destruction of property, the crime of extortion, the crime of forcible seizure, the crime of robbery, etc., shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the crime of heavier punishment.

Article 8 If a perpetrator confesses his guilt, regrets his crime, actively compensates for the victim's losses or obtains the victim's understanding, he may be given a lighter punishment; If the circumstances of a crime are minor, he may not be prosecuted or exempted from criminal punishment.

【 Judicial Interpretation III 】

Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Trial of Juvenile Criminal Cases (Interpretation [2006] No. 1, 20060123)

Article 8 If a person who has reached the age of sixteen but not eighteen, in order to bully the minor, bully the weak or seek mental stimulation, arbitrarily beats up other minors, repeatedly takes or arbitrarily destroys public or private property from other minors or disturbs the order of a school or any other public place, if the circumstances are serious, he shall be convicted and punished for the crime of picking quarrels and provoking troubles.

【 Judicial Interpretation IV 】

Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases that Interfere with the Prevention and Control of Infectious Disease Outbreaks (Legal Interpretation [2003] No. 8, 20030515)

Article 11 Whoever, during the period of prevention or control of disasters such as the outbreak of infectious diseases, forcibly takes or arbitrarily damages or occupies public or private property in serious circumstances, or makes trouble in a public place, thus causing serious disorder in a public place, shall be convicted of the crime of picking quarrels and provoking troubles in accordance with the provisions of Article 293 of the Criminal Law, and shall be given a heavier punishment according to law.

【 Judicial Interpretation Ⅴ】

Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law to Criminal Cases Involving Defamation through Information Networks (Interpretation [2013] No. 21, 20130910)

Article 5 (1) Whoever uses information networks to insult or intimidate others, if the circumstances are egregious and social order is disrupted, shall be convicted and punished for the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 1 (2) of Article 293 of the Criminal Law.

[Judicial Interpretation V. Notes]

1, if the use of information network to abuse specific individuals, there may be a combination of the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and the crime of insult. If the circumstances of abusing others are egregious and disrupt social order, he shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, which is punishable by a heavier punishment.

(2) The abusive and threatening behavior must reach the level of "egregious circumstances" and at the same time cause real damage to social order. For some netizens who vent their dissatisfaction and abuse others on the Internet, we should focus on education and strengthen management, and generally do not easily apply the provisions of this paragraph to deal with crimes.

[Judicial Guidance document

Sentencing Guidelines of the Supreme People's Court on Common Crimes (Fa [2017]7, 20170401)

(13) Crime of picking quarrels and provoking troubles

If the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble is constituted, the starting point for sentencing may be determined within the corresponding range according to the following different circumstances:

(1) Whoever picks quarrels and provokes trouble once may determine the starting point for sentencing within the range of fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention.

(2) Where a person gathers others to pick quarrels and make trouble three times (each time constituting a crime) and seriously disrupts social order, the starting point for sentencing may be determined within the range of five to seven years' imprisonment.

On the basis of the starting point of sentencing, the amount of penalty may be increased in accordance with other criminal facts affecting the composition of the crime, such as the number of picking quarrels and provoking troubles, the consequences of injury, the amount of forcibly taking other people's property or arbitrarily damaging or occupying public or private property, and the standard penalty may be determined.

[Judicial Guidance document

Guiding Opinions of the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Justice on Several Issues Concerning the Handling of Criminal Cases Involving Black Forces (FAFA [2018] No. 1, 20180116)

4. Punish crimes committed by using "soft violence" according to law

17 Where criminal forces systematically violate personal rights and property rights, disrupt economic order and social order by means of disturbing, pestering, making noise, gathering crowds, etc., in order to obtain illegal interests or form illegal influence, and if the case constitutes a crime, it shall be dealt with separately in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law:

(1) Systematically disturbing the normal order of work and life by means of disturbing, pestering, making noise, gathering crowds, etc., causing psychological fear or psychological coercion to others, which fall under the "intimidation" stipulated in Article 293, paragraph 1 (2) of the Criminal Law, and the "threat" stipulated in Article 226 of the Criminal Law, and also meet the other conditions for constituting a crime, The crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble and the crime of forced trading shall be convicted and punished respectively.

The "multiple times" in Articles 2 to 4 of the Interpretation on Several Issues concerning the Application of the Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Picking Quarrels and Provoking Troubles should generally be understood as the conduct of picking quarrels and provoking troubles more than three times within two years. Whoever repeatedly commits different kinds of acts of picking quarrels and provoking troubles within two years shall be investigated for criminal responsibility.

...

Whoever adopts the above means and at the same time constitutes another crime shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the provisions for heavier punishment.

... Where, in order to claim debts not protected by law or for other illegal purposes, he hires or instils others to systematically resort to the above means to pick quarrels and make troubles, which constitutes the crime of picking quarrels and making troubles, the employer or the messenger shall generally be punished as the principal offender in the joint crime; Those who employ or instil people for the purpose of recovering lawful debts or civil conflicts such as marriage, love, family, or neighborhood disputes, without causing serious consequences, shall generally not be treated as crimes, except those who continue to act after being criticized and stopped or punished by the relevant departments.

[Judicial Guidance document

Opinions of the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, and the National Health and Family Planning Commission on Punishing Medical Offenses and Maintaining Normal Medical Order According to Law (Fa [2014]5, 20140422)

2. Strictly punish medical crimes in accordance with the law

...

(1) Beating medical personnel or intentionally injuring medical personnel or intentionally damaging public or private property in a medical institution, but no serious consequences have been caused, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of Article 43 and Article 49 of the Law on Administrative Penalties for Public Security; Whoever intentionally kills medical personnel, or intentionally injures medical personnel resulting in serious consequences of minor injuries or above, or willfully beats medical personnel in a serious manner, or willfully damages public or private property, and constitutes the crime of intentional homicide, the crime of intentional injury, the crime of intentional destruction of property, or the crime of picking quarrels and provoking troubles, shall be convicted and punished in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law.

(2) Where a private memorial hall is set up in a medical institution, a wreath is placed, paper money is burned, banners are hung, the gate is blocked, or medical order is disturbed by other means, but serious losses have not been caused and persuasion or warning has failed, the person who refuses to obey shall be dispersed according to law, and the person who refuses to obey shall be taken away from the scene according to law and punished according to the provisions of Article 23 of the Law on Penalties for Public Security Administration; It was carried out by a crowd, right