China’s judiciary issued an interpretation of the country’s infectious diseases law on Thursday that calls for execution or life imprisonment for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) patients who violate quarantine restrictions.
”Intentionally spreading sudden contagious disease pathogens that endangers public security or leads to serious personal injury, death or heavy loss of public or private property will be punishable by 10 years to life imprisonment or the death penalty,” Xinhua news agency said of the ruling.
The interpretation, issued by the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, went into effect on May 13, but was publicised in full in Thursday’s Legal Daily.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) immediately expressed concern that the draconian law could be counterproductive as it would deter possible Sars patients from going to hospital.
”If you are too heavy handed people may refuse to go to the hospitals at all,” Mangai Balasegaram, a WHO spokesperson, said.
”There is a fine balance with this kind of disease where you need to isolate and quarantine patients, but if you are too heavy handed it may end up only stigmatising people,” she said.
China liberally uses the death penalty, executing more people each year than the rest of the world combined, according to the rights group Amnesty International.
The ruling appeared similar to a July 1999 interpretation of China’s criminal law, in which the judiciary determined that vague references in the law to ”evil cults” formed the legal basis to a nationwide crackdown on the Falungong spiritual group.
Since ending a nearly five-month attempt at covering up the Sars epidemic on April 20, the government has embarked on a mass public campaign aimed at eradicating the disease that has killed 271 nationwide and infected 5163.
According to the judicial ruling, people with or suspected of carrying contagious diseases, who refuse medical exams, isolation or treatment and pass on the disease unintentionally can be sentenced from three to seven years.
Negligent health officials found guilty of allowing a disease to spread can be imprisoned for up to three years, it said.
China has already sacked its health minister and the mayor of Beijing, as well as hundreds of other lower level officials for failing to properly address the outbreak or implement preventative measures. – Sapa-AFP