Severe sentences have been handed down to four people for
stealing from ancient tombs in Shaanxi Province which hold precious cultural
relics.
Xi'an Intermediate People's Court on Monday gave suspended death
sentences to Qiu Zhaojun and Lu Fuping and 15 years' imprisonment
to Xiong Yifang and Ding Xinxian.
"The punishment shows our authorities' determination to fight
against this crime," said Zhang Zaimin, an expert with Shaanxi
Cultural Relics Protection Center.
The four, from Shaanxi, Jiangsu and Henan provinces, dug up an ancient tomb from
the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) in Lantian County, Xi'an, in
January. They stole a total 119 items according to the court.
Qiu and Lu's personal property was confiscated as part of the
sentence. This included cars and houses. The other two were also
fined 200,000 yuan (US$25,000) and 100,000 yuan (US$12,500)
respectively.
Shaanxi, the site of China's capital for 13 dynasties over a
period of more than 1,000 years, has a large number of royal
mausoleums and tombs. These contain thousands of valuable relics,
said Chen Xianqi, an official with the Shaanxi Provincial
Administration of Cultural Heritage. "For years these tombs have
attracted criminals from home and abroad," Chen said.
In 2003 Shaanxi issued a number of stiff laws and regulations to
protect cultural relics and the tombs, said Zhao Rong, director of
Shaanxi Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage.
(China Daily August 30, 2006)