5人非法制造枪支被判刑 Five sentenced in south China for illegally making firearms

Five people in Guangdong Province in southern China have been sentenced to prison(监狱 jiānyù) by a court(法庭 fǎtíng) in the city of Heyuan for making(制造 zhìzào) and selling(销售 xiāoshòu) firearms(枪支 qiāngzhī), reports The Paper.

The firearms made by Cheng and his employees are sold on China's e-commerce platform Taobao.com. [Photo: China Plus]

The main defendant, surnamed Cheng, was arrested(逮捕 dàibǔ) in May last year along with four of his employees.

A police investigation(调查 diàochá) found they were manufacturing powerful non-standard firearms.

Cheng has insisted that he was making toy guns, and that he had been legally granted a patent(专利 zhuānlì) for the design(设计 shèjì).

The firearms made by Cheng and his employees are sold on China's e-commerce platform Taobao.com. [Photo: China Plus]

But the People's Court of Heping County found that the men violated(违反 wéifǎn) China's criminal law(法律 fǎlǜ) and other legal provisions by making the guns.

Cheng has decided to appeal the verdict.

重点词汇 Key word:

非法 illegal; unlawful

E.g. Zhè shì fēifǎ de, kěnéng huì wéijí tārén de shēngmìng.
这是非法的,可能会危及他人的生命。
It is illegal and could endanger other people's lives.

Fēifǎ yōngyǒu qiāngzhī shì yánzhòng fànzuì xíngwéi.
非法拥有枪支是严重犯罪行为。
The unlawful possession of firearms is a serious crime.