Hospital intern sexually bribes doctor? A brief analysis of the legal issues of sexual bribery
Recently, a post alleging that a doctor at Peking University Shenzhen Hospital had sexual relations with a female intern appeared on several news tip and portal websites. The post claimed that Wang, an intern at the hospital, had multiple hotel encounters with a doctor surnamed Guo in order to secure an internship, and it also included private hotel records of the two. Yesterday, the hospital stated that both parties involved are unmarried and that there is no allegation of sexual bribery.
The online post pointed out that intern Wang graduated from Anhui Province Fuyang City Dental Technology College in June 2014, and subsequently bribed the hospital with 100,000 yuan in cash through her uncle. In order to enter the hospital for internship, Wang also “sold her body,” checking into hotels with hospital doctor Guo multiple times. The poster stated that hospitals are places for saving lives and healing the wounded, and should not allow people without professional knowledge to get in through the back door. The most striking aspect of the post was the attachment of two hotel check-in records of Wang and Guo, which showed that the two stayed at a 7 Days Inn Meilin Ge Hotel on August 1 and August 7, 2014, respectively. The records included not only the times of their reservation, check-in, and departure, but also clearly detailed 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 is no provision for the criminalization and punishment of sexual bribery, yet this phenomenon occurs with striking frequency in judicial practice. There is a popular saying that “behind every fallen corrupt official there is a woman.” Although the woman behind every corrupt official is not necessarily the perpetrator of sexual bribery, it is an indisputable fact that the high frequency of sexual bribery stands in sharp contrast to the weak punitive measures under Chinese 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 as more than a decade ago, Zhang Erjiang, known as the "Five Poisons Secretary," was reported to have had improper relations with over 100 individuals during his tenure in Danjiangkou and Tianmen. Among them were 15 party and government officials, 7 of whom were promoted, and the husbands of 2 others received advancements. A cadre from the Tianmen Women's Federation had multiple relations with Zhang Erjiang, first having him intervene with the organization department to transfer her to the transportation bureau. Dissatisfied there, she then requested a transfer to serve as deputy director of the education committee office and concurrently deputy director of the admissions office. Among the female cadres involved with Zhang Erjiang, many frequently changed positions like her, which local people sarcastically referred to as "a night of spring dreams, a lifetime of benefits." However, the charges for which Zhang Erjiang was prosecuted did not include the aforementioned content. Zhang Erjiang was like this a decade ago, and a decade later, Liu Zhijun remains the same.
According to Article 385, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law, the definition of the crime of acceptance of bribes is: "Any state functionary who, by taking advantage of his position, extorts property from another or illegally accepts property from another in return for securing benefits for the latter shall be guilty of acceptance of bribes." Next, Article 389, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Law provides for the crime of offering bribes: "Anyone who, for the purpose of obtaining illegitimate benefits, gives property to a state functionary shall be guilty of offering bribes." Both provisions address bribery crimes involving property, yet the forms of bribery extend far beyond property alone. Under these two provisions, other forms of bribery cannot be convicted and sentenced as bribery crimes. It is precisely because China's Criminal Law contains no provisions on the phenomenon of sexual bribery that this phenomenon has become a gap and blind spot in the law, giving lawbreakers an opportunity to exploit.
In the United States, sexual bribery is likewise subject to criminal liability. Section 201 of the United States Code, Criminal Law Volume, provides: “A public official who gives or accepts anything of value commits the offense of bribery.” As for what constitutes “value,” the federal courts adopt the “subjective theory,” meaning that anything the party concerned regards as valuable qualifies. “Sexual services” can be exchanged for other benefits by the bribe-giving party, and can satisfy mental and physical pleasure for the bribe-taking party, so they are of course things of value to both parties.
In conclusion, to truly incorporate "sexual bribery" as a crime into the legal framework, the Supreme People's Court needs to issue corresponding judicial interpretations to regulate existing power-sex transactions, and when conditions are ripe, the legislative body should amend the current criminal law to formally include it in the criminal code.
