3 in custody over theft at Ming tombs
Print Edition
THREE people are in custody in Beijing in connection with the theft of a pair of 400-year-old candle holders from the Ming imperial tombs.
The suspects — two from the capital and one from central China’s Henan Province — are implicated in organized relic theft, police said.
The missing white marble candle holders, which were about 90 centimeters tall and weighed 200 kilograms each, stood in front of the mausoleum of the last Ming emperor Chongzhen. The mausoleums were built for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
A police officer said the candle holders went missing in May but that officials tried to cover up their absence by saying they had been sent for repairs.
The candle holders became a hot topic online last month when a visitor shared contrasting photographs of the tombs.
In the newer images, two vases and an incense burner were still there but the candle holders, which were visible in older photographs, were gone, leaving only their bases.
A district government official said the Ming Tombs Special Area Agency had admitted on March 20 that the candle holders had gone missing.
Four officials were sacked for “incompetence” on Thursday.
About 40 kilometers north of downtown Beijing, the Ming Tombs were listed as UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003.
An investigation into the incident continues.
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