BEIJING - Since 2015, Chinese courts at all levels have handed down criminal punishments to 8,687 people for defaulting on court orders, the Supreme People's Court (SPC) announced Tuesday.

The SPC also provided examples of 10 typical cases handled by the courts regarding the crime of refusing to fulfill court decisions.

"The courts have implemented a policy combining punishment with leniency," Meng Xiang, chief of the SPC's enforcement bureau, said at a press conference.

By using different measures depending on the defaulters' attitudes and circumstances, those who are cooperative in observing the court rulings will be encouraged, Meng said.

According to the SPC, a judicial interpretation it issued in July 2015 has enabled applicants to directly file criminal charges to courts in cases where law enforcement authorities have failed to call the defaulters to account.