Crime by elderly on the rise

Prosecutors in downtown Huangpu District have handled nearly 250 criminal cases committed by people aged above 60 in the past three years.

Last year, the Huangpu District People’s Procuratorate dealt with 113 crimes by the elderly, compared with 86 in 2017, and 51 in 2016.

The increase is partly due to the rise in the number of aged people, with almost 40 percent of the district’s population now elderly. 

Half of last year's crimes by elderly people were related to violations of property rights such as theft and fraud. 

Violence-related crimes such as intentional injury and disrupting public service accounted for about 27 percent.

Most of the crimes were impulsive but there are a number of people who are recidivists.

Prosecutors said the increase could also be due to declining incomes, the rising price of commodities and the cost of medical treatment.

Not all elderly people accused of crimes have lawyers to defend them.

The procuratorate said it will work on expanding the coverage of the public defender system to ensure elderly people's right to legal defense.

It also suggests that for those aged above 70, their adult children can accompany them during questioning and trial.

Punishment of this vulnerable group should be balanced between strictness and leniency.

In a recent case, prosecutors learned a 65-year-old man, surnamed Wang, stole 640 yuan (US$95) from the checkout counter of a fruit market on February 25 and was given a 15-day detention by the police.

However, they found Wang was a recidivist who had been jailed four times for theft in 1976, 2014, 2017 and 2018.

The prosecutors then contacted the Huangpu police last month and they launched an investigation. 

This month Wang was arrested by police and is now facing criminal charges for the offence.