By CAO YIN
China's top court disclosed five influential cases involving the protection of military facilities to further enhance the public awareness of national defense and the rule of law.
"Military facilities are an important component of national defense construction, serving as the foundation of the military to fulfill its missions, and providing crucial support for national strategic capabilities and military operations," the Supreme People's Court said on Wednesday.
"The disclosure of the cases not only emphasizes the significance of protecting military facilities, but also demonstrates the steadfast determination and relentless efforts of Chinese courts in safeguarding national defense interests," it added.
It revealed that crimes involving the destruction of military facilities, such as military optical cables, have occurred from time to time in recent years. "Such actions endanger military security and affecting the military ability to carry out its missions, so they must be severely punished," it noted.
One disclosed case showed that a defendant surnamed Xu was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the crime of sabotage of military communications.
Xu, who worked for an information technology company, was responsible for the daily inspection and maintenance of optical cable lines. He used metal pliers to cut a military optical cable during one inspection with the intention of selling it, causing the interruption of critical business systems for over two hours and disrupting military communications for three units that were conducting exercises.
Xu's actions resulted in economic losses of more than 40,000 yuan ($5,490), and the loss of the involved optical cable amounted to over 9,000 yuan.
"Military communication is the method by which the armed forces use communication tools or other means to transmit information for command purposes," the top court said, stressing that military optical cables are vital military communication facilities.
"In the information age, the damage to military optical cables can have significant adverse effects on military communications and activities, not only causing financial losses but also severely influencing the readiness and training of troops, thereby endangering national defense interests and national security," it added.
It praised the conviction and sentence given to Xu, noting that the ruling has shown the judicial high-pressure on those who harm national defense interests and military combat effectiveness.
While requiring courts nationwide to continue the fight against such crime, it has also called on more people from all walks of life to strengthen the protection of military facilities.