Courts and police lead crackdown on scammers who target elderly people

Ongoing campaign

Sun Lingling, vice-president of the Beijing High People's Court, said that fraud can seriously harm seniors' physical or mental health, so since April, when a related campaign was launched nationwide, courts across Beijing have attached great importance to dealing with such cases.

She said the court has set up a special team to guide judges at the grassroots level to handle such cases, and a work mechanism has been established to receive evidence, review cases and provide people with anti-fraud advice.

As of Aug 4, courts in the capital were dealing with 60 cases in which seniors had been defrauded. So far, 22 have been concluded, Sun Lingling said, adding that more than half of those convicted were sentenced to three or more years in prison.

The courts are also providing more services to crack down on such fraud more efficiently.

"We've provided several channels for the public to report clues, including an e-mail address, a hotline and an online platform," Sun Lingling said, adding that the hotline, 12337, has received 1,144 calls from citizens offering information.

"While continuing to collect evidence, we'll consider naming experienced judges to handle complicated fraud disputes involving seniors to better protect older people's legitimate rights and interests," she said.

Meanwhile, efforts to ensure verdict implementation will be intensified, and handbooks or pamphlets on the prevention of such fraud will also be distributed to communities or families that have senior members to improve their legal awareness, she added.