BEIJING July 1,(Reuter) - China has executed at least 16 people for stealing ancient Buddha statues, robbing graves and destroying ancient corpses in a nationwide crackdown on crime, the Xinhua news agency said Monday.

The fight to preserve China's cultural heritage was becoming increasingly difficult and had been included in the "Strike Hard" anti-crime campaign launched in April, it quoted Zhang Wenbin, director of the State Bureau for Preservation of Cultural Relics, as telling a national meeting.

He cited the example of several people executed in southwestern Sichuan province this year for stealing ancient Buddha statues.

In May 1995, nine members of a gang involved in major antique crimes in northern Shanxi province were executed, he said.

Three were executed in central Hubei for robbing grave sites and destroying ancient corpses, and in Kaifeng in central China four were executed for theft from a museum, he said but gave no more details.

Zhang called for more education to raise public awareness and appreciation of the value of cultural relics and to warn people of the serious penalties.

Chinese antiques have a ready market in Hong Kong, Japan and other parts of Asia and the rewards from smuggling can be enormous.

Hundreds of people convicted of crimes ranging from murder, rape and robbery to fraud have been executed after public sentencing rallies nationwide as law enforcers struggle to hold back a rising tide of serious crime.

REUTER