When a person breaks the law, he commits an act of "doing to others what he does not want others to do". I don't want it to happen to me, but I do it to others and cause harm to others' personal property. What Confucius said is on a moral level. Don't let others do things that will make you unhappy, uncomfortable or embarrassed. There is no use in harming other people's personal and property by making others unhappy. Those who break the law have harmed others and must be punished to serve as a warning to others.