[MSN] Chinese tomb raiders get suspended death sentences

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

Chinese tomb raiders get suspended death sentences
A Chinese court has handed suspended death sentences to two people for stealing from an ancient tomb, a state newspaper said Wednesday, as China tries to crack down on the theft of cultural artifacts.

In January, four people dug into tombs, dating back about 1,000 years to the Northern Song dynasty, in the central province of Shaanxi near Xian, home of the Terracotta Warriors, the official China Daily said.

They stole 119 items, it said, without giving details.

"For years, these tombs have attracted criminals from home and abroad," it quoted Chen Xianqi, an official at the Shaanxi Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, as saying.

The court gave death sentences to two of the criminals, which were then suspended, and 15-year jail terms to the other two, the newspaper said.

The court also confiscated the personal property of the two sentenced to death, it added.

"The punishment shows our authorities' determination to fight against this crime," the report quoted Zhang Zaimin of the Shaanxi Cultural Relics Protection Centre as saying.

Thousands of tombs have been raided in China since the country first started opening up to the outside world again in the late 1970s, state media has said, as people look to profit from a fascination with Chinese antiques.

http://www.thanhniennews.com/