what is wrong with pple nowsaday, even dead people properties
oso can used for profit.. wah lao... imagine your skull landed on
other pple glass cabinet for display... !!
....
BEIJING (AFP) - – A Chinese-American academic has been sentenced
to eight years in prison for selling human skulls unearthed in
China to buyers overseas, state media reported Monday.
The 44-year-old US national, only identified by his surname
Ding, was sentenced on September 21 for "illegal business
practices," the Beijing Times reported.
His arrest came after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation
tipped off Chinese police last year, informing authorities here
that Ding was sending the skulls to the United States via express
mail.
The academic, who worked in Beijing as a consultant, was
subsequently arrested in May last year trying to ship 20 skulls to
the United States. Police found an additional 1,100 skulls at his
home in the capital, it said. The skulls were at least 60 years old
and some dated back to 1840.
The man has appealed the verdict, with his lawyers insisting
that the sale of such artefacts is not illegal and that old skulls
are widely bought and sold by collectors in China, the report
said.
Ding said he started collecting the artefacts after purchasing
several skulls with designs carved into them at a Beijing antiques
market.
He later bought skulls from wholesalers in northwestern Qinghai
province and enlisted artisans to add carvings to them, the paper
said.
According to the court, Ding sent around 200 of the skulls
overseas, allegedly earning a total of 19,000 dollars after
purchasing the heads for less than 23 dollars each.
The case is before a Beijing appeals court, the report said
