Chinese man jailed for stealing casket from cemetery

A Chinese man has been sentenced to jail for blackmailing a cemetery manager and stealing a casket. He has been served a year jail term.

The incident took place in 2015 December. The man was arrested by the police for stealing the cinerary casket from the cemetery in Changping district, Beijing, according to the Changping district people's court of Beijing.

The man called up the cemetery manager and asked for 300,000 yuan ($47,000) to return the casket, and later lowered the ransom to 45,000 yuan.

The Changping court found him guilty of blackmail and extortion. He was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 2,000 yuan, state-run Xinhua news agency said.

Chinese observe the Qingming Festival or 'tomb-sweeping day' during which they visit the tombs of their ancestors and offer prayers.

The Qingming Festival was observed on Thursday.

(With inputs from agencies)