OIL THIEVES TO FACE DEATH PENALTY

serious cases of oil and gas theft could result in the death penalty, according to a legal document released by the Supreme People's Court recently. The document is the first to deal specifically with the theft of oil and gas and the damage of equipment, and is aimed at reducing rampant criminal activities in the industry. Any act of oil or gas theft that leads to "serious consequences" such as the death of more than one person and the injury of more than three people, causes a well to blow out, leads to heavy pollution or creates "heavy economic losses" of more than RMB 500,000 ($64,000), will be subject to the death penalty.