The Law on Penalties for Offenses against Public Order, which will go into effect on March 1, includes provisions forbidding police to extract confessions through torture or collecting evidence by illegal means.

Ke Liangdong, director of the legal affairs bureau under the Ministry of Public Security said on Tuesday at a regular press conference that the law nailed down the "illegal evidence exclusion principle," saying that the evidence obtained by torture, threatening or cheating could not be used as the basis for penalties.

The law stipulates detailed procedures including investigation and enforcement in dealing with public order offense behaviors.

The law said police authorities should notify the public order offenders in advance the facts, reasons and legal basis for the penalties and tell them what kinds of rights they will maintain.

Source: Xinhua