Thanks to its strength in combating illegal medical practice, China has witnessed a decline in related crimes in recent years, the country's top court said, while warning that despite that achievement, cases had been found in new areas.

Data released by the Supreme People's Court on Wednesday showed that from 2018 to 2022 Chinese courts concluded more than 3,800 criminal cases involving illegal medical practice, with over 5,700 people convicted.

The number of cases concluded in 2022 was about half the number in 2018, but the top court said such crimes were still difficult to fight, and cases had expanded to emerging fields such as cosmetology and assisted reproduction, posing a threat to people's lives and health.

In one case it gave as an example, a woman was sentenced to 10 months in prison and fined 8,000 yuan ($1,119) after being found guilty of illegal medical practice. She was found to have opened a cosmetic clinic without the necessary qualifications in 2018, and mistakes she made in a laser surgery operation in 2019 injured a client's left eye.

The top court said courts across the nation need to attach great importance to dealing with cases caused by new medical businesses and mete out harsh punishment to unqualified clinic owners to safeguard people's health and safety.