There is a basis for detaining other people's belongings and can be regarded as a civil self-help act. Otherwise, it may be suspected of a crime and punished as embezzlement.

According to Article 270 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China":

The crime of embezzlement is to illegally take as one's own property that is kept for others and the amount is relatively large. Anyone who refuses to return the money shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years, criminal detention or a fine; if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than five years and shall also be fined.

Anyone who illegally takes other people’s forgotten or buried items as his own, if the amount is relatively large, and refuses to hand it over, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

This crime will only be dealt with upon complaint.

Extended information:

According to Article 2 of the "Tort Liability Law of the People's Republic of China":

Infringement of civil rights and interests shall be borne in accordance with this law Liability for tort.

The civil rights and interests referred to in this law include the right to life, health, name, reputation, honor, portrait, privacy, marital autonomy, guardianship, ownership, usufruct rights, and guarantees Personal and property rights such as property rights, copyrights, patent rights, trademark exclusive rights, discovery rights, equity rights, inheritance rights, etc.

According to Article 3 of the Tort Liability Law of the People's Republic of China:

The infringed party has the right to request the infringer to bear tort liability.

According to Article 4 of the "Tort Liability Law of the People's Republic of China":

If the infringer should bear administrative liability or criminal liability for the same act, this does not affect the liability for infringement according to law. responsibility.

If the tort liability, administrative liability, and criminal liability should be borne for the same act, and the infringer's property is insufficient to pay, the tort liability shall be borne first.

According to Article 5 of the "Tort Liability Law of the People's Republic of China":

If other laws have special provisions on tort liability, those provisions shall prevail.

Criteria for identifying the crime of embezzlement:

(1) The boundary between this crime and the crime of theft

The crime of embezzlement and the crime of theft are both crimes against property, and their subjects are both general subject. The difference is mainly reflected in: the crime of larceny is the act of secretly stealing public and private property.

In the case of theft, the property is not under the control of the perpetrator: while the crime of embezzlement is when the perpetrator commits the act of embezzlement, the misappropriated thing is already under his actual control at that time.

(2) The boundaries between this crime and the crime of corruption

1. The objects of the crime are different. The crime of corruption is limited to public property and cannot be real estate, while the crime of embezzlement can not only It can be public property or private property, including real estate;

2. The criminal subjects are different. The subject of the crime of embezzlement is a general subject. Anyone who takes care of other people's property and embezzles it can become the subject of this crime. The subject of the crime of corruption is a special subject, that is, a state employee;

3. The objective aspects of the crime are different. The crime of corruption is manifested in the fact that the perpetrator must take advantage of the convenience of his position, that is, using the power and status within his or her position to facilitate the management of public property. Whether the perpetrator takes advantage of his position in the crime of embezzlement does not affect the establishment of the crime.

4. Criminal proceedings are different. Corruption is a public prosecution case. The crime of embezzlement is a private prosecution case.

Baidu Encyclopedia-Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China