Swipe and slice for Mao’s scroll
The thieves left by taxi, hauling away $846 million in artifacts they had stolen from a Hong Kong apartment while the owner was in mainland China.
They took 24,000 vintage stamps, 10 bronze coins and seven calligraphy scrolls that the owner, Fu Chunxiao, said had been written by Mao Zedong.
The majority of the stolen items remain missing, but the scroll, measuring three metres, found its way to a buyer before it was recovered by police.
“He found the calligraphy piece too long and difficult to display for viewers, so he cut it in two,” Ho Chuntung, a police superintendent, told reporters this week, referring to the man who allegedly bought the stolen scroll. “Whether he knows the authenticity and value of the calligraphy is something we have to continue investigating.”
On Thursday, police charged a 44-year-old suspect identified only as Wu with burglary. He was arrested in Hong Kong, along with another man identified as Tan, 47, who was accused of harbouring “an offender.”
The alleged buyer, a 49-year-old man identified only as Lin, was arrested in September, just after the heist. He was accused of handling stolen goods. Local news outlets said he had paid a mere $65 for the recovered scroll.
The collector, Fu, told The South China Morning Post newspaper that he was devastated by the burglary — and by the damage to the scroll. He said it was the most valuable item among his stolen possessions. Fu put his total losses at $846 million, according to police.
“It was heartbreaking to see it torn into two pieces,” he is quoted as saying about the scroll. “It will definitely affect its value, but the impact remains to be seen.”
A police spokesperson said authorities had not independently determined the value of the scroll. Auction houses dealing in Chinese art did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.
Fu, who is originally from Sichuan province, according to local news reports, could not immediately be contacted. He is known as a collector of items from the Mao era. In 2018, Fu organized a Hong Kong exhibition of 200 stamps bearing the face of Mao. (The founding father of the People’s Republic of China, Mao ruled as the chairman of the Communist Party from 1949 until his death in 1976.)
Police said the break in the case occurred when a cab driver who picked up the men on the day of the burglary came forward with information. Authorities are still looking for two other suspects. The three men arrested so far are originally from mainland China, police said.
Burglaries have increased in Hong Kong, rising from 786 cases in 2019 to 1,156 cases in the first half of 2020.