Museum thief hid until closing
Source: Xinhua/Shanghai Daily |
May 13, 2011, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MORE details have emerged of the theft of art objects from the Palace Museum in Beijing.
Police said the suspect, Shi Baikui, a 28-year-old man from east China's Shandong Province, entered the museum as a visitor on May 8. Later that day, he found a secluded spot inside and hid himself from staff members doing a final patrol before closing time, police said.
He then broke a window on the northern side of the exhibition hall to gain entry into the space and then proceeded to steal the items.
Police said nine items were later found missing but two were recovered nearby. They were slightly damaged.
Some of the seven stolen items had been recovered while others were discarded by the suspect in trash bins, the Beijing Daily reported.
Police said Shi told them theft was not on his mind when he entered the museum.
"After I entered the exhibition hall and listened to the guide's introductions to the exhibits, the idea of theft cropped up into my mind," he said.
Police denied widespread online stories that the suspect had broken into the hall by cutting a hole in the wall.
Investigators said fingerprints discovered at the scene led them to Shi, who had a criminal record in Beijing.
He had previously been convicted of possessing illegal knives.
Detectives went to Shi's hometown in Shandong's Caoxian County on Wednesday while Internet cafes and other venues were put under surveillance. Police had been told that surfing the Internet was one of Shi's favorite hobbies.
Investigators received a tip-off that Shi was at an Internet cafe in Beijing's Fengtai District at about 7pm on Wednesday and rushed to the scene.
Two plainclothes detectives entered the cafe initially to identify the suspect, with the help of the cafe manager, and were followed by more officers who took Shi into custody about 58 hours after the relics had been reported stolen.
The gold pieces, encrusted with jewels, were on loan from a Hong Kong-based museum and were on show in the museum's Chengsu Hall.
The investigation into the case is ongoing.
Police said the suspect, Shi Baikui, a 28-year-old man from east China's Shandong Province, entered the museum as a visitor on May 8. Later that day, he found a secluded spot inside and hid himself from staff members doing a final patrol before closing time, police said.
He then broke a window on the northern side of the exhibition hall to gain entry into the space and then proceeded to steal the items.
Police said nine items were later found missing but two were recovered nearby. They were slightly damaged.
Some of the seven stolen items had been recovered while others were discarded by the suspect in trash bins, the Beijing Daily reported.
Police said Shi told them theft was not on his mind when he entered the museum.
"After I entered the exhibition hall and listened to the guide's introductions to the exhibits, the idea of theft cropped up into my mind," he said.
Police denied widespread online stories that the suspect had broken into the hall by cutting a hole in the wall.
Investigators said fingerprints discovered at the scene led them to Shi, who had a criminal record in Beijing.
He had previously been convicted of possessing illegal knives.
Detectives went to Shi's hometown in Shandong's Caoxian County on Wednesday while Internet cafes and other venues were put under surveillance. Police had been told that surfing the Internet was one of Shi's favorite hobbies.
Investigators received a tip-off that Shi was at an Internet cafe in Beijing's Fengtai District at about 7pm on Wednesday and rushed to the scene.
Two plainclothes detectives entered the cafe initially to identify the suspect, with the help of the cafe manager, and were followed by more officers who took Shi into custody about 58 hours after the relics had been reported stolen.
The gold pieces, encrusted with jewels, were on loan from a Hong Kong-based museum and were on show in the museum's Chengsu Hall.
The investigation into the case is ongoing.
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