Beijing Criminal Defense Lawyer Let's discuss the classification of attempted crimes.

　　A criminal defense lawyer in Beijing explains that China's criminal law theory generally categorizes attempted crimes into two types: completed attempts where the crime was actively carried out, and attempts where execution was interrupted before completion. Additionally, it distinguishes between attempts that could have been successfully completed and those that could not.

　　1. Depending on whether the criminal act has already been completed, attempted crimes can be categorized into two types: completed attempted crimes and incomplete attempted crimes. A "completed attempted crime" occurs when the perpetrator has already begun carrying out the specific elements of a crime as defined in the special part of the Criminal Law, believing that all actions necessary to achieve their criminal intent have been fully executed—but ultimately fails to reach the intended outcome due to factors beyond their control. For example, imagine an assailant firing a gun at a victim, who collapses immediately afterward. Mistaking the victim for dead, the attacker flees the scene, leaving behind the weapon. In reality, the victim may have sustained only minor injuries.

　　 Beijing Criminal Defense Lawyer Let me explain: "Attempted crime" refers to a situation where the perpetrator has already begun carrying out the specific elements of a crime as defined in the special part of the criminal law, but due to reasons beyond their control, they have not yet completed all the actions necessary to achieve their intended criminal objective. As a result, the crime remains at the attempted stage rather than being fully realized. For example, imagine a person wielding a knife with the intent to fatally stab their victim—but during the attack, they encounter fierce resistance from the victim, who even manages to overpower them, ultimately preventing the murder from being completed.

　　Generally speaking, attempted crimes with the intent to achieve the objective are closer to completing the offense—and thus pose a greater threat to society—than attempts that fail to pursue the intended goal. Therefore, in accordance with the principle of proportionality between crime and punishment, under otherwise identical circumstances, penalties for terminated attempts aimed at achieving the objective should be more severe than those imposed on terminated attempts that did not even attempt to fulfill the purpose.

　　2. Beijing Criminal Defense Lawyer: Depending on whether the actual crime was completed, attempted crimes can be categorized into "attempted crime" and "completed crime." An attempted crime occurs when a person has already begun carrying out the specific actions that constitute the elements of a crime as defined in the Special Part of the Criminal Law. While these actions might have potentially led to the completion of the crime, external factors beyond the perpetrator's control prevented the crime from reaching its intended outcome—for example, a man, driven by infidelity, deliberately tried to abandon his wife by pursuing a new romantic relationship. To that end, he secretly mixed enough rat poison into his wife's meal. Fortunately, however, his wife noticed an unusual smell and promptly discarded the entire dish. Although the man’s actions could objectively have resulted in his wife’s poisoning and death, her timely awareness ultimately thwarted the plan. Thus, the man’s behavior constitutes an attempted crime.

　　Beijing criminal defense lawyers explain that "attempted crime" refers to a situation where the perpetrator has already begun carrying out a specific offense as defined in the special part of the Criminal Law, fulfilling the objective elements required. However, due to a mistaken understanding of the facts surrounding the act, the crime could not be completed objectively, preventing it from reaching the stage of completion. Although an attempted crime fails to produce the intended criminal outcome due to the perpetrator's misperception, the individual still harbors a clear intent to commit the crime and has actively engaged in criminal behavior—posing a potential threat to society. Therefore, even in cases of attempted crimes, criminal responsibility must still be pursued.

　　Today Beijing Criminal Defense Lawyer That's all for now—thank you everyone for watching.