Police in Thanh Hoa Province have officially prosecuted and detained two Chinese nationals, Shen Jiangyang (born 1982) and Deng Zhiji (born 1984), both from Guangxi Province, China, for violating the sanctity of tombs and human remains.
The two Chinese suspects have been prosecuted and detained for desecrating graves. Photo: CACC
According to the Thanh Hoa Provincial Police Department, a third suspect - also a Chinese citizen - had already left Vietnam before the incident was uncovered. Authorities are currently seeking judicial cooperation from China to extradite this individual if sufficient grounds are established.
The two detained suspects confessed that on April 28, they illegally entered Vietnam via the Mong Cai International Border Gate in Quang Ninh Province with the intention of looting valuable artifacts buried in ancient royal tombs and the graves of wealthy individuals from the feudal era.
Upon entering the country, the group brought with them specialized metal-detecting tools used for locating buried antiquities, including a metal-sensitive scanning device.
Once in Thanh Hoa City, the suspects stayed at a hotel in Dien Bien Ward and rented motorbikes to reach the tomb of King Le Tuc Tong. They surveyed the site to assess the terrain, then purchased additional equipment for the excavation, including a handheld electric drill, ropes, blankets, hand saws, plastic bags, tarps, gloves, shovels, and crowbars.
The excavation site where the suspects dug in search of buried relics. Photo: CACC
Initial investigations confirmed that the suspects had dug a hole measuring 90 by 52 centimeters and 1.6 meters deep at the tomb of King Le Tuc Tong. In the process, they also damaged a stone stele.
At the site, authorities recovered 14 fragments of a stone stele engraved in classical Chinese characters and adorned with Le Dynasty dragon motifs.
Some of the visible inscriptions included “Dai Viet Tuc Tong Nhuong…,” a reference to the posthumous temple name of King Le Tuc Tong, written in large vertical strokes in the Khải script. Additionally, 15 pieces of dark gray bricks were found.
The recovered artifacts have been sealed in steel boxes by the Thanh Hoa police and placed in the secured storage area of the Lam Kinh Historical Relic Site for investigation purposes.
Vietnamnet.vn
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