A Chinese man was sentenced today to 10 and a half years in prison for robbing ancient tombs in northeast Liaoning Province.
A local court found Qi Jingyu convicted of robbing a tomb in the protected Hongshan Culture site in Lingyuan city twice in June 2013 using a spade, pick and metal detector. He had found three jade items.
In October, he robbed another tomb, unearthing three jade bracelets and a jade hoop, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The cultural relics protection center of Liaoning found that the two tombs were more than 5,000 years old, and the theft resulted in serious damage and loss of archaeological information.
The Lingyuan court also found that Qi had stolen from and damaged three other sites between 2013 and 2014, including one from the Warring States Period (475BC-221BC).
Qi, who was sentenced along with three accomplices, was also find 40,000 yuan (USD 5,826).
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