A couple's scandalous behavior - carving their names on a 300-year-old vat at the Palace Museum - incited criticism among netizens, while staff at the Palace Museum said they've reported the case to the police.
This kind of incident happens quite often as the penalties for such vandalism are too low, museum staff said. The fine is 200 yuan ($31.40), or a warning, for those who deliberately damage cultural relics under the protection of the country, if the harm done is not serious enough for criminal punishment, according to Chinese regulations.
This type of vandalism is illegal in many foreign countries. Let's see how they punish such uncivilized behavior.
Egypt: A maximum of life imprisonment
Egypt is a country with an ancient civilization and many large historical sites. Almost every cultural site has a band of "tour police", who are not only responsible for tourists' safety, but also keep an eye on those who might want to scrawl on relics. If someone is caught damaging relics, the "tour police" can punish him, according to the law.
A new law in Egypt sets fines in terms of the amount of damage, with the maximum penalty set at $100,000, plus life imprisonment.
Mexico is another country with ancient civilizations and has put great effort into improving historic preservation. The law regarding relics was enacted in 1972 and has been revised many times, most recently in 2014. It stipulates that those convicted of illegal archaeological excavation and damaging relics can be fined 1,000-5,000 days worth of the country's minimum daily wage, and sent to jail for 3-12 years.
Japan: A maximum 5-year jail term
Scrawling used to be a cultural tradition in Japan and the Angkor Wat site in Cambodia has many examples from ancient Japanese. However, under the current law in Japan, scrawling on protected cultural relics can result in a prison sentence of less than five years or a penalty of less than 300,000 Japanese yen (over $2,500).
In 2008, a Japanese student scrawled his name on a church in Florence, Italy and was suspended from his school as soon as he got back home. The school principal apologized in public through the media.
Though Singapore actually has no cultural relics, it practices "zero tolerance" for any behavior that damages public places. Even foreigners can't escape punishment if convicted.
In 2015, an international hunt began for two young people from Germany who scrawled on the subway in Singapore. The young men were charged with damaging public property, convicted and sentenced to - nine months in prisonment plus three canings.
India passed four acts and regulations from 1958 to 1973. An amendment in 1992 stipulates that business operations are not allowed within 100 meters of historic sites and are restricted between 100 meters and 300 meters.
Anyone convicted of a damaging act will be subject to a maximum fine of 5,000 rupees ($75.50), a three -month imprisonment, or both.
