New Chinese Law Will Throw Cheating Students in Prison For Up to 7 Years

The People’s Republic of China is cracking down on students who are cheating by imposing a new law that will require cheaters to serve a prison sentence that can last up to seven years.

The new law is a supplementary clause that was added to Section 284 of the Criminal Law. The new clause stipulates that students who cheat or intend on cheating will face a fixed prison sentence of a maximum three years, according to Xinhua via Shanghaiist.

However, cases with greater severity will be punished with a prison term lasting anywhere from three to seven years and will be liable for additional fines. The law will go into effect on Nov. 1, 2015.

Professor Hong Daode, a professor of criminal law at China University of Political Science and Law, said the new law will be a “powerful deterrent” and it should “purify the test environment, improve personal integrity, and establish a good social atmosphere.”

While China plans on discouraging students from cheating, they are not the only country that sees it as a growing problem. According to a recent survey, 8,000 Chinese students were expelled from American universities last year because of cheating.

While being expelled is less disheartening than serving time in a Chinese prison, students who are kicked out of universities often face immense difficulty when searching for employment.

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