Hospital intern sexually bribes doctor? A brief analysis of the legal issues of sexual bribery
Recently, a post titled "Peking University Hospital Doctor Exposed for Having an Affair with Female Intern" appeared on multiple tip-off and portal websites. The post claimed that Wang, an intern at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital (hereinafter referred to as PKU Hospital), had repeatedly had sexual encounters with Doctor Guo to secure an internship at the hospital. The post also included private records of their hotel stays. Yesterday, PKU Hospital stated that both parties involved are unmarried men and women, and there is no such thing as sexual bribery.
The post pointed out that intern Wang graduated from Fuyang Dental Technology College in Anhui Province in June 2014 and subsequently bribed the hospital with 100,000 yuan through her uncle to gain entry. To secure the internship, Wang also "sold her body," repeatedly having sexual encounters with Doctor Guo. The poster argued that hospitals are places for saving lives and should not allow unqualified individuals to enter through the back door. The most eye-catching part of the post was two hotel stay records for Wang and Guo, showing they stayed at the 7 Days Inn Meilin Pavilion on August 1 and August 7, 2014. The records detailed not only their booking, check-in, and check-out times but also the toiletries and drinking water they used.
Yesterday, a spokesperson for PKU Hospital stated that after seeing the post, they investigated the matter with the doctor involved. Doctor Guo is actually a male nurse with no authority to arrange internships, so the claim of sexual bribery is unfounded. According to the spokesperson, both Guo and Wang are unmarried young people, and the hospital is not in a position to comment on their private affairs.
(Shenzhen Commercial Daily)
A Brief Analysis of China's Legal Issues Regarding Sexual Bribery
In China's Criminal Code and its five amendments, there are no provisions for the conviction and punishment of sexual bribery. However, in judicial practice, this phenomenon occurs very frequently. There is a popular saying: "Behind every corrupt official who falls, there is a woman." Although not every woman behind a corrupt official is a perpetrator of sexual bribery, it is an indisputable fact that the high frequency of sexual bribery stands in stark contrast to the weak punitive measures in China's criminal law.
In today's society, sexual bribery is essentially a typical exchange of power for sex and a new form of corruption that is deeply detested. It manifests in various forms and has profound causes. To curb this corrupt phenomenon, constraints can be imposed from three aspects: morality, discipline, and law. However, China's current laws still lack explicit provisions for criminalizing sexual bribery! Under these circumstances, the punishment for sexual bribery lags far behind its development.
Just like over a decade ago, the "Five Poisons Secretary" Zhang Erjiang, according to reports, during his tenure in Danjiangkou and Tianmen, among the more than 100 people who had improper relations with Zhang Erjiang, there were 15 party and government cadres, of whom 7 were promoted and 2 had their husbands promoted. A female cadre from the Tianmen Women's Federation had multiple relations with Zhang Erjiang. She first asked Zhang to inform the Organization Department to transfer her to the Transportation Bureau, and after being dissatisfied there, she requested a transfer to serve as Deputy Director of the Education Commission Office and Deputy Director of the Admissions Office. Among the female cadres who had relations with Zhang Erjiang, many frequently changed positions like her, leading locals to mock it as "a night of spring dreams, benefits for a lifetime." However, the crimes for which Zhang Erjiang was prosecuted did not include the above content. Ten years ago, Zhang Erjiang was like this, and ten years later, Liu Zhijun remains the same.
According to Article 385, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law, the definition of bribery is: "Any state functionary who, by taking advantage of his office, extorts property from another person, or illegally accepts another person's property in return for securing benefits for the person, constitutes the crime of bribery." Secondly, Article 389, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law stipulates: "Whoever, for the purpose of securing illegitimate benefits, gives property to a state functionary, constitutes the crime of offering bribes." These two provisions are specifically aimed at property-based bribery crimes, but the forms of bribery are far more than just property. According to these two provisions, other forms of bribery cannot be convicted and sentenced as bribery crimes. It is precisely because China's criminal law has no provisions regarding sexual bribery that this phenomenon has become a legal loophole and blind spot, giving criminals an opportunity to exploit.
In the United States, sexual bribery is also criminalized. Section 201 of the U.S. Code - Criminal Law states: "Any public official who solicits or accepts anything of value commits bribery." The term "value" is interpreted by federal courts under the "subjective theory," meaning anything that the parties involved consider valuable qualifies. "Sexual services" can be exchanged for other benefits by the briber and provide mental and physical pleasure to the bribee, thus they are undoubtedly valuable to both parties.
In conclusion, to truly incorporate "sexual bribery" into the legal framework, the Supreme People's Court must issue corresponding judicial interpretations to regulate existing power-for-sex transactions, and when the time is ripe, the legislature should amend the current criminal law to formally include it in the penal code.
