The thieves sold the stolen work for a small fraction of its value. According to Hong Kong police, the 2.8-meter scroll was cut because it was too long to display. The Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post wrote that the scroll was cut by a buyer who obtained it from thieves for only $ 65 (1,500 crowns) and came to the conclusion that it was a forgery. He wanted to exhibit it, but the scroll was too long for that.
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The scroll contains poetry handwritten by the founder of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong. The work, the value of which the owner estimates at $ 300 million (6.9 billion crowns), was stolen on September 10, when three men broke into the home of the well-known collector of stamps and revolutionary art Fu Chun-sia.
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He also lost old stamps, copper coins and other Mao’s calligraphic works during the robbery. Fu, who was allegedly in mainland China at the time of the crime, said he had lost valuables worth a total of about $ 645 million (14.9 billion crowns).
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One of the suspected robbers has been arrested, the other two are on the run. Police found the scroll when they arrested a 49-year-old man in late September, whom they suspected of trafficking.
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