THREE YOUNG MEN POSTED A VIDEO CLIP on social media showing themselves smoking in the Palace Museum, where it is prohibited. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

In their video clip, the three young men were rather arrogant, saying that they were aware it is forbidden to smoke in the Palace Museum but they were brave enough to challenge the law.

About 24 hours later, they paid for their "bravery". The local police investigated the incident, located the three men, and gave each of them their deserved penalty.

The only problem is that the penalty is rather light: A 200 yuan ($29) fine plus "education".

The fine is the maximum according to the law. It is unreasonable to expect such a light fine to curb smoking in non-smoking areas. In Beijing, that amount of money is not even enough to pay for lunch for two persons in a mid-level restaurant.

More importantly, the three young men not only illegally smoked, but also openly showed their contempt for the law by uploading their video clip on social media. Because of that, they deserve a heavier penalty, not just the rather light penalty for smoking.

Smoking is not the only illegal deed for which the fine is too light. For example, those who cross a street when the lights are red can be fined up to 50 yuan. The minimum is 5 yuan, which is just enough to buy a bottle of soda. Are such light penalties really going to act as deterrents?

When the penalty is too light, it will not only fail to prevent people from breaking the law, but also undermine people's belief in the rule of law.

Worse, the penalties for enterprises' illegal deeds are also too low. For example, in 2018, several five-star hotels were reported to have hygiene problems such as cleaning the toilet and cups using the same towel, but the fine for them is even less than the price of a room for one night. Is such a light penalty really fair for the customers who stayed in these hotels? The penalties for breaking the law should not be so light as to be negligible. Only appropriate penalties for illegal deeds will make people think twice about breaking the law.