Forbidden City thief's sentence upheld

The man who stole several pieces of relics from the Palace Museum in Beijing faced a second trial on Monday but was still convicted of theft and given 13-year jail sentence, according to a verdict from Beijing High People's Court.

Shi Baikui, 27, who took nine pieces of artwork made from gold and jewels — all on loan from Hong Kong and insured for a total of 410,000 yuan ($65,000) — from the museum, more popularly known as the Forbidden City, last May, was sentenced to 13 years by Beijing No 2 Intermediate People's Court on March 19.

In addition, he was also fined 13,000 yuan and was deprived of his political rights for three years, according to previous reports.

One week after the first trial, Huang Changyong, Shi's lawyer, handed over some material and appealed to the higher court to hear the case, aiming to reduce the convict's punishment.

During the second hearing, the judges gave a final answer, confirming the judgment of the lower court, which means the case might be brought to a close.

The thief from Caoxian county in East China's Shandong province, hid in a remote path and kicked a hole in a wall of an area under repair to break into the Hall of Abstinence of the museum on the evening of May 8, 2011.

He then stole nine artifacts after destroying the alarm system of the museum.

Police arrested him on June 1. Three of the stolen art works remain missing.