Basic Issues To Explore New Types Of Theft

The new sense of the crime of theft is mainly reflected by the stipulation byAmendment (VIII) to the Criminal Law of People’s republic of China that indoor theft,theft with weapon and pick-pocketing taken as the basic penalties of the crime of theft,together with theft with relatively large amount and repeated thefts, constitutes fiveindependent constitutive requirements of the crime of theft, which shows the strictpunitive attitude of the criminal law towards the crime of theft.The amendment to the crime of theft may trigger great change in the applicationof relevant laws and juridical practice. Therefore, it is necessary for us to re-interpretthe three kinds of newly-added behaviors. This paper is composed of the followingthree chapters:In Chapter One, the author shows how amendments are made to the crime oftheft and expounds the significance of the amendment thereof.In Chapter Two, the author defines these three kinds of behaviors respectively.Firstly, based on consistency with original intention of legislation and uniformity ofwords meaning, the “indoor” in indoor theft may take the same meaning with the“indoor” in indoor robbery. It holds that the “indoor” shall be illegal in behavior andintentional in subjective attitude from the perspective of the behavior features.Secondly, though the author is skeptical of the theft with weapon taken into the scopeof the criminal law, it is held that it shall be convicted in accordance with the principleof legality. The author focuses on the starting time of “with weapon” and problems from subjective aspect and makes a clear distinction of weapon as tools for criminalpurpose and weapon for criminal purpose in conviction. Finally, the change ofpick-pocketing from administrative malfeasance to criminal crime indicateslegislators’ strict punitive attitude to such behaviors. However, the author holds thatpick-pocketing taken into the scope of criminal law may lead to waste of judicialresource and go against modest character of criminal law. Also, it shall be applied inaccordance with the principle of legality. As pick-pocketing is not a formal standardterminology, it is necessary to make a definition. The author considers thatpick-pocketing refers to doers’ behavior of stealing things from people’s pockets inpublic with the intention of illegal possession.In Chapter Three, the author mainly probes into likely problems of newly-addedcharges in juridical practice and centers on problems of whether there shall be a limiton minimum amount on the crime of theft and of how to apply laws when a behaviormeets requirements of several basic penalties at the same time.