diff --git a/pmd/etc/changelog.txt b/pmd/etc/changelog.txt
index f61639ce39..f4e1982f85 100644
--- a/pmd/etc/changelog.txt
+++ b/pmd/etc/changelog.txt
@@ -343,6 +343,7 @@ Fix false positive on CastExpressions for UselessParentheses
 Fix false positive where StringBuffer.setLength(0) was using default constructor size of 16, instead of actual constructor size.
 Fix false negative for non-primitive types for VariableNamingConventions, also expanded scope to local and method/constructors, and enhanced customization options to choose between members/locals/parameters (all checked by default)
 Improve TooManyMethods rule - thanks to a patch from Riku Nykanen
+Improve DoNotCallSystemExit - thanks to a patch from Steven Christou
 Correct -benchmark reporting of Rule visits via the RuleChain
 Creating an Empty Code Ruleset and moved the following rules from Basic ruleset:
         * Empty Code Rules
diff --git a/pmd/regress/test/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/j2ee/xml/DoNotCallSystemExit.xml b/pmd/regress/test/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/j2ee/xml/DoNotCallSystemExit.xml
index 0fcab6e245..276edb0538 100644
--- a/pmd/regress/test/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/j2ee/xml/DoNotCallSystemExit.xml
+++ b/pmd/regress/test/net/sourceforge/pmd/lang/java/rule/j2ee/xml/DoNotCallSystemExit.xml
@@ -25,6 +25,20 @@ public class SystemCall {
 		// OK
 		application.exit(0);
 	}
+}
+     ]]></code>
+    </test-code>
+    <test-code>
+        <description><![CDATA[
+basic violations with Runtime
+     ]]></description>
+        <expected-problems>1</expected-problems>
+        <code><![CDATA[
+public class Bar {
+    public void foo() {
+        // NEVER DO THIS IN A APP SERVER !!!
+        Runtime.getRuntime().exit(0);
+    }
 }
      ]]></code>
     </test-code>
diff --git a/pmd/rulesets/java/j2ee.xml b/pmd/rulesets/java/j2ee.xml
index bc3d6e138e..b72936fd79 100644
--- a/pmd/rulesets/java/j2ee.xml
+++ b/pmd/rulesets/java/j2ee.xml
@@ -250,20 +250,27 @@ Remote Interface of a Session EJB should not have a suffix.
     	externalInfoUrl="http://pmd.sourceforge.net/rules/java/j2ee.html#DoNotCallSystemExit">
     	<description>
 Web applications should not call System.exit(), since only the web container or the
-application server should stop the JVM.
+application server should stop the JVM. This rule also checks for the equivalent call Runtime.getRuntime().exit().
 	</description>
     	<priority>3</priority>
     	<properties>
     		<property name="xpath">
     			<value><![CDATA[
-//Name[starts-with(@Image,'System.exit')]
+//Name[
+    starts-with(@Image,'System.exit')
+    or
+    (starts-with(@Image,'Runtime.getRuntime') and ../../PrimarySuffix[ends-with(@Image,'exit')])
+]
     		]]></value>
     		</property>
     	</properties>
     	<example>
     		<![CDATA[
 public void bar() {
-	System.exit(0);		// never call this when running in an application server!
+    System.exit(0);                 // never call this when running in an application server!
+}
+public void foo() {
+    Runtime.getRuntime().exit(0);   // never stop the JVM manually, the container will do this.
 }
      ]]></example>
     </rule>
diff --git a/pmd/xdocs/credits.xml b/pmd/xdocs/credits.xml
index e3de961fa4..dcea652a78 100644
--- a/pmd/xdocs/credits.xml
+++ b/pmd/xdocs/credits.xml
@@ -322,6 +322,7 @@
             <li>Andreas Dangel - GodClass and LawOfDemeter rules, several bugfixes and cleanup</li>
             <li>Riku Nykanen - patch improving TooManyMethods rule</li>
             <li>Tammo van Lessen - new rule GuardDebugLogging for Jakarta Commons Logging ruleset.</li>
+            <li>Steven Christou - patch improving DoNotCallSystemExit rule</li>
         </ul>
         </subsection>
         <subsection name="Organizations">