进入英语学习论坛下载音频 去听写专区一展身手

The man suspected of being the first thief to successfully steal pieces from the Palace Museum is still being questioned prior to a public prosecution.

"This robbery is the first time items have been stolen from the Palace Museum, as far as I know," said Li Songyi, the prosecutor of the Second Branch of Beijing People's Procuratorate in charge of the case.

"We received the case from the municipal public security bureau on Sept 1. After the investigation is finished, Shi Bokui, the suspect, will face prosecution," said Li, adding that the date of the public prosecution depends on the results of the current investigation.

Li stressed that Shi is not a skilled burglar as some have assumed.

Shi Bokui, born in 1983 in Shandong province, was arrested on June 1 on a charge of larceny.

He confessed to stealing nine pieces from the museum on May 8.

Shi said that he hid himself in a little-used path at the museum after it had closed for the night, then broke into the Hall of Abstinence by kicking a hole in a temporary wall in an area under repair.

Shi stole nine pieces, all small gold purses and cosmetic containers made between 1920 and 1945 that belong to the private Hong Kong Liangyi Museum.

Although a museum security guard caught him, he managed to escape.

However, he left fingerprints and was arrested at an Internet bar in Fengtai district in Beijing on May 11.

Police have now recovered six of the stolen art pieces.

Police and cultural authorities will carry out security checks on all the nation's museums before the end of this year, suspending the operation of those with flaws, according to a circular jointly released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Public Security and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.