China mulls tougher penalty for sex with underage prostitutes

China plans to amend a law to declare sex with underage prostitutes as rape, which if passed could entail more harsh punishment.

Under the current law, people who have sex with prostitutes under 14-years-old face a maximum of 15 years in prison, while those convicted of raping a child may face the death sentence.

No timetable for the amendment, however, was given by Zang Tiewei, an official with the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the National People's Congress (NPC).

Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing NPC session, Zang said the legislature has carried out multiple investigations on the issue and listened to opinions from scholars, various departments and legislators.
 

Zang said the legislature also analysed a large number of such cases from grassroots judicial department.