BEIJING -- China's top procuratorate has upheld a firm stance against particularly heinous crimes over the past year, delivering severe punishments in a strict and timely manner, a senior prosecutor with the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on Tuesday.

Yuan Ming, chief of the SPP's major crime department, cited the car-ramming case in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong province, which resulted in significant casualties last November, as a prime example.

Following the brutal crime, the department deployed prosecutors to oversee and guide the case handling, expedited the litigation process within the legal time frame, and resolved the case swiftly and in strict accordance with the law, effectively deterring further crimes and addressing public concerns, Yuan noted.

The perpetrator of this horrific crime, Fan Weiqiu, was executed on Jan 20 after the death sentence was approved by the Supreme People's Court.

The SPP's major crime department has also worked on a targeted operation to tackle gun and explosive-related crimes, while continuing to take a strong approach in combating drug-related offenses, Yuan said.

From January to November 2024, procuratorial agencies across the country approved the arrest of 669,000 criminal suspects and took over 1.46 million individuals to court.