CRI听力:Forbidden City Thief Sentenced to 13 Years in Jail

Presiding judge Li Tianmin announced the sentence in the Second Intermediate People's Court in Beijing.

"The accused, Shi Baikui, has committed the crime of theft. He is sentenced to thirteen years in jail, deprived of his political rights for three years and fined 13,000 Chinese yuan. Second, the recovery of illicit income will continue. The recovered income or items will be sent back to the victim."

Shi Baikui broke into the former home of Chinese emperors in the heart of Beijing on May 8th last year, and stole nine pieces of art works made of gold and jewels.

Media reports say Shi appeared relieved when he heard he had not received the death penalty. Attorney Li Ju from Zhong Yin Law Firm in Beijing explains the reason for Shi's concern.

"According to Amendment Eight of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China. that was issued last year, death penalty for theft has been abolished."

Six of the stolen pieces have been recovered, while the value of the remaining missing three are estimated at 150,000 yuan, or about 23,800 U.S. dollars.
Li Ju says 13 years in jail is a reasonable sentence, given the location of the crime, the value of the stolen items and the fact that is was planned by a repeat criminal.

The incident has sparked public concern over the management of the Palace Museum.

The museum said earlier this month that it was upgrading its security system.

Newly appointed curator Shan Jixiang says once the project is completed, security workers will be able to instantly monitor on screens the sites where an alarm is triggered and make a judgment call within seconds.

But Lu Jiansong, a conservation expert at Shanghai-based Fudan University, says the real problem lies in the management of the museum.

"The protection of cultural relics is the most basic responsibility of a museum. Chinese museums have three levels of security, property protection, technology protection and personnel protection. According to the regulation on the level of risk and security protection for cultural museums, the Palace Museum has the highest level of security. Under such advanced security facilities and technologies, I think the problem lies in the management."

Lu Jiansong suggests the museum introduce an accountability system, information disclosure system, and supervision by the public.

The museum said in a statement after Shi's sentence was announced that it would draw lessons from the case and work to improve security as well as raise staff awareness about responsibility.

For CRI, this is Ding Lulu.