Article 264 Whoever steals public or private property, if the amount is relatively large or repeated, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance, and shall also, or shall only, be fined; If the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 3 years 10 years and fined; If the amount is especially huge or there are other particularly serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined or confiscated; Under any of the following circumstances, he shall be sentenced to life imprisonment or death, and his property shall also be confiscated: (1) stealing financial institutions, with a particularly large amount; (2) stealing precious cultural relics, if the circumstances are serious.