A recent theft at the Forbidden City Palace Museum in Beijing left China laughing at the state-appointed cultural guardians.
On May 8, a thief broke into the “heavily guarded” museum and stole seven pieces from an exhibit. The stolen items had been lent from a private museum in Hong Kong, the Madam Liang Yi Cang Museum.
Fifty-eight hours later, the Beijing Public Security Bureau announced that the case was solved, and the thief had been arrested at an Internet bar.
The story told by the police, rather than settling what had happened, only raised more questions. While everyone thought that this was the work of a super thief, it actually was done by a first-time amateur, according to police.
Shi Bokui, the alleged thief, 5-feet-3-inches tall, is an unemployed welder who has no special expertise as a thief. During a visit to the Palace, he is said to have suddenly come up with the idea of stealing.
The police say he hid somewhere inside the Palace and waited until everyone else left. Then he went to the exhibition, broke a rear window, dug a hole in a decorative wall, broke the glass of the display cabinet, and stole items worth more than US$1 million dollars.
