• Area of Law： Criminal Law
• Level of Authority： Local Judicial Documents
• Date issued：06-12-2014
• Effective Date：07-01-2014
• Status： Effective
• Issuing Authority： Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality

Notice of the Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality on Issuing Several Opinions on the Application of Judicial Interpretations in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Snatching
(as deliberated and adopted by the Judicial Committee of the Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality on December 30, 2013 and approved by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate on April 23, 2014)
On November 11, 2013, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued the Interpretations on Several Issues concerning the Application of Law in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Snatching (hereinafter referred to as the “Judicial Interpretations in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Snatching”). In order to correctly apply judicial interpretations, and accurately try criminal cases of snatching, several opinions are hereby offered for your compliance and implementation.
I. Amount standards for conviction and sentencing of crimes of snatching
1. When the courts of Beijing Municipality try the criminal cases of snatching as prescribed in Article 267 of the Criminal Law, the standards for determination of “large amount,” “huge amount” and “particularly huge amount” shall be respectively 2,000 yuan or more, 50,000 yuan or more, and 300,000 yuan or more.
2. Under any of the following ten circumstances as prescribed in Article 2 of the Judicial Interpretations in the Handling of Criminal Cases of Snatching, the standard for determination of “large amount” is 1,000 yuan or more: (1) The offender has received any criminal punishment for robbery, snatching or gathering a crowd for open plunder. (2) The offender has received any administrative punishment for snatching or open plunder in the last year. (3) The offender has snatched any other's property for three times or more within one year. (4) The offender snatches any other's property by driving a motor vehicle or non-motor vehicle. (5) The offender organizes or manipulates any minors to commit the crime of snatching. (6) The offender snatches property from the elderly, a minor, a pregnant woman, a person carrying an infant or young child, the disabled or a person incapable of work. (7) The offender snatches the property of a patient or any relative of the patient in hospital. (8) The offender snatches the funds and materials for disaster relief, emergency rescue, flood control, special care, poverty relief, migration and salvation. (9) During the period of a natural disaster, accident disaster, social security incident or any other emergency, the offender commits the crime of snatching at the place where the incident occurs. (10) The offender causes any other's minor injury or mental disorder or any other serious consequence.
3. Where an offender who snatches public or private property has any of the circumstances as prescribed in Items (3) to (10) in the preceding clause, and the amount of property snatched reaches 25,000 yuan or more, the offender shall be deemed to fall under “other serious circumstances” as prescribed in Article 267 of the Criminal Law; where the amount of property snatched reaches 150,000 yuan or more, the offender shall be deemed to fall under “other especially serious circumstances” as prescribed in Article 267 of the Criminal Law.
II. Principles of handling cases under trial
4. Where any criminal case in the first instance which has been accepted but the judgment of which is not pronounced prior to the implementation of these Opinions involves the crime of snatching, the specific amount standard as determined in these Opinions shall apply.
5. Where a case in the second instance or a case for review which has been accepted but the judgment of which is not pronounced prior to the implementation of these Opinions or for which a judgment of first instance has been made but the defendant appeals or the people's procuratorate files an appeal involves the crime of snatching, the specific amount standard as determined in these Opinions shall apply.
Where, according to the new specific amount standards and circumstances of a crime, the grade of the sentencing of a criminal punishment which shall be imposed is consistent with that as determined by the judgment of first instance, the original sentence shall generally not be changed, unless the sentencing is too heavy.
Where, according to the new specific amount standards and circumstances of a crime, a criminal punishment which shall be imposed at a lower sentencing grade than that as determined by the judgment of first instance must be commuted, the commutation shall be made on the basis of ascertaining the facts, and the extent of the leniency shall not be too large.
III. Miscellaneous
6. These Opinions shall come into force on July 1, 2014. The relevant provisions of the Notice on the Standards for Determination of Amount in Eight Crimes of Property Violation (No. 188 [1998], Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality) as jointly developed by the Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality, the People's Procuratorate of Beijing Municipality and the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau under the organization of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Municipal Party Committee in 1998 shall be no longer applicable.
7. Any problems existing in the process of the application of the judicial interpretations and these Opinions shall be reported to the Higher People's Court of Beijing Municipality in a timely manner.