China scraps death penalty for some crimes

BEIJING: China on Friday eliminated capital punishment for some economic crimes.

The standing committee of China's National People's Congress passed an amendment to the nation's criminal law that took 13 offences off the list of 68 crimes previously punishable by death, the legislature said on its website.

"The 13 crimes that have been exempted from the death penalty are mainly economic and non-violent crimes," Lang Sheng, a parliamentary member, told reporters.