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SCMP Reporter

Mainland legal experts say the  life sentences given to two people for their roles in organising a sex party for Japanese tourists in Zhuhai is in line with  Chinese criminal law.

But they conceded that the penalty was severe by international standards.

A similar offence gets a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment in Hong Kong and five years in Singapore.

In addition to the two people given life terms, the Zhuhai  Intermediate Court yesterday jailed 12 others for terms of up to 15 years.

Li Qixing, a standing committee member of the Chinese Law Society, said the court ruling was 'reasonable' and in line with the law.

He said that while organising prostitution normally warranted five to  10 years in jail  on the mainland, the court could give the death penalty under five special conditions.

These included that if the offence had caused 'very bad influence on society' and was 'of a particularly serious nature', Professor Li said. Another condition  was if the offender had organised prostitution 'on multiple instances and involved many people'.

Professor Li said  the three Japanese men linked to the same incident should face trial in China. 'They have breached Chinese laws and should be tried in China,' he said.

Fu Hualing,  law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said the law on prostitution was  severe on the mainland. 'Prostitution cases on the mainland often involve kidnapping the women or using violence to force them into the business. Therefore the law, when it was introduced in the early 1990s, was made particularly severe,' he said.

'But I think it is not very appropriate in this case. It is not in line with the original intention of the lawmakers.'

Another law expert said the severity of the punishment would make it difficult for Japanese authorities to hand its citizens over to China for trial.

'It is a good gesture for China to ask Japan to help arrest these people. But I doubt if this will ever happen because the two countries don't even have an extradition agreement,' said Gu Min-kang, assistant professor of law at Hong Kong's City University.

Yesterday's court ruling did little to pacify the anger of the mainland public. Internet forums and discussion boards were filled with anti-Japanese messages.



Life sentences for orgy organisers are in line with law, say experts