SHENYANG -- A Northeast China court Thursday sentenced a man to death with reprieve for tomb theft.

The Liaoning Provincial Higher People's Court sentenced Yao Yuzhong to death with a two-year reprieve. Yao was convicted for a series of tomb thefts, robberies and reselling cultural relics.

In late 2014, many ancient tombs and cultural ruins were severely damaged at a relics site on the border area of the city of Lingyuan and Jianping county in Liaoning. Archaeologists had previously unearthed a large number of relics dating to more than 5,500 years ago at the site.

Police caught 225 suspects, including Yao, who was believed to be the ringleader, and retrieved 2,063 items.

In 2016, Yao was given a suspended death sentence by a local court, which he appealed.