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China warns SARS spreaders could face execution
Last Updated Thu, 15 May 2003 11:24:11
BEIJING - China is threatening to execute or impose a life sentence on anyone who breaks quarantine orders and deliberately spreads SARS.

The Supreme Court laid out the punishments in an attempt to prevent SARS from spreading through the countryside, home to many of the country's 1.3 billion people.
The court cited existing laws that include a possible death sentence even for nonviolent offences, although it isn't often imposed.

Some human rights activists say the measure is too extreme.

The illness has killed 271 people in China, including four new deaths on Thursday. Officials in Hong Kong are reporting seven new deaths from SARS.



Written by CBC News Online staff