According to the provisions of the relevant laws the man's behavior constitutes the crime of destroying traffic facilities, according to the Supreme Prosecutor's guidance case stealing manhole covers is enough to cause cars, electric vehicles, etc. to capsize and destroy the danger, constituting the crime of destroying traffic facilities, in the supreme prosecutor's case, the suspects were sentenced to three years and six months.
Depending on the different circumstances, the theft of manhole covers will be characterized differently:
One, the crime of destroying traffic facilities
According to the provisions of Article 117 and the first paragraph of Article 119 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China*** and the State of China, the crime of destroying traffic facilities refers to intentionally destroying the railroad tracks, bridges, tunnels, highways, airports, airways, lighthouses, signs, or carrying out other destructive activities that are sufficient to cause trains, automobiles, trams, ships, and aircraft to capsize or destroy dangerously enough to jeopardize the safety of the public ****. This is a crime of endangering public **** safety with transportation equipment as the specific object of destruction.?
The theft of manhole covers is characterized as a crime of destroying traffic facilities its reason is because the theft may cause danger of endangering public **** security. The Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China provides that if the destruction of traffic equipment has not yet caused serious consequences, the penalty shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years and not more than ten years, and if serious consequences are caused, the penalty shall be fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years, life imprisonment, or the death penalty. According to the provisions of the law, the maximum penalty for the crime of destroying traffic facilities can be up to death.
Theft
But the theft of manhole covers do not always constitute the crime of destroying traffic facilities, if the suspects steal the manhole covers do not belong to the traffic, will not jeopardize the safety of the public ****, it will not be enough to constitute the crime of destroying traffic facilities, for some suspects to steal the manhole covers of remote or unattended places may only constitute the crime of theft.
According to the provisions of Article 264 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, the crime of theft refers to the illegal possession for the purpose of stealing public and private property in larger amounts or multiple thefts, burglary, burglary with a weapon, pickpocketing of public and private property. When the suspect's illegal possession of public **** property, not enough to jeopardize the safety of public ****, then constitute the crime of theft.
Whether it constitutes the crime of destroying traffic facilities or theft, which determines that the theft of manhole covers is a criminal offense and is prohibited by law.