HONG KONG — The thieves left by taxi, hauling away $645 million in artifacts they’d stolen from a Hong Kong condo whereas the proprietor was in mainland China.
They took 24,000 classic stamps, 10 bronze cash and 7 calligraphy scrolls that the proprietor, Fu Chunxiao, mentioned had been written by Mao Zedong.
Nearly all of the stolen gadgets stay lacking, however the scroll, measuring three yards, discovered its solution to a purchaser earlier than it was recovered by the police.
“He discovered the calligraphy piece too lengthy and tough to show for viewers, so he lower it in two,” Ho Chun-tung, a police superintendent, instructed reporters this week, referring to the person who allegedly purchased the stolen scroll. “Whether or not he is aware of the authenticity and worth of the calligraphy is one thing now we have to proceed investigating.”
On Thursday, the police charged a 44-year-old suspect recognized solely as Wu with housebreaking. He was arrested in Hong Kong, together with one other man recognized as Tan, 47, who was accused of harboring “an offender.”
The alleged purchaser, a 49-year-old man recognized solely as Lin, was arrested earlier in September, simply after the heist. He was accused of dealing with stolen items. Native information shops mentioned he had paid a mere $65 for the recovered scroll.
The collector, Mr. Fu, instructed The South China Post newspaper that he was devastated by the housebreaking — and by the injury to the scroll. He mentioned it was probably the most worthwhile merchandise amongst his stolen possessions. Mr. Fu put his complete losses at $645 million, in keeping with the police.
“It was heartbreaking to see it torn into two items,” he’s quoted as saying concerning the scroll. “It should undoubtedly have an effect on its worth, however the impression stays to be seen.”
A police spokeswoman mentioned by telephone that the authorities had not independently decided the worth of the scroll. Public sale homes dealing in Chinese language artwork didn’t instantly reply to emails looking for remark.
Mr. Fu, who’s initially from Sichuan Province, in keeping with native information reviews, couldn’t instantly contacted. He is named a collector of things from the Mao period. In 2018, Mr. Fu organized a Hong Kong exhibition of 200 stamps bearing the face of Mao. (The founding father of the Individuals’s Republic of China, Mao dominated because the chairman of the Communist Get together from 1949 till his dying in 1976.)
The police mentioned the break within the case occurred when a cabdriver who picked up the boys on the day of the housebreaking got here ahead with info. The authorities are nonetheless searching for two different suspects. The three males arrested to this point are initially from mainland China, the police mentioned.
Burglaries have lately elevated in Hong Kong, rising from 786 circumstances in 2019 to 1,156 circumstances within the first half of 2020, in keeping with police statistics. Robberies have additionally elevated fourfold, from 44 circumstances in 2020 to 186 within the first six months of 2020.
The official residence of the Australian consul basic was damaged into final Friday. In June, two males scaled 19 tales of bamboo scaffolding to steal a protected deposit field in a rich neighborhood of Hong Kong in June. In September, a gaggle robbed a person who was carrying millions of dollars in cash in his backpack.
Burglars have extra typically focused unoccupied houses on the Chinese language territory, Mr. Ho, the senior police superintendent, mentioned. However they don’t seem to be restricted to gadgets of excessive business worth.
In the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak in February, as customers purchased bathroom paper in bulk for worry it might run out, three masked robbers stole more than $100 worth of toilet paper outdoors a grocery store whereas holding up a deliveryman by knife level.
