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)