Exhibits stolen from Beijing Forbidden City

A thief sneaked into Forbidden City on the May 8 night, stealing 7 pieces of rare items in a temporary exhibition, Beijing police confirmed yesterday.

The incident is under investigation.

The suspect, who was caught on security cameras, is believed to have hidden inside China's biggest museum before closing on May 8, and carried out the burglary before midnight.

A Chinese blogger claimed the theft amounted to nearly one billion yuan (US$154 million).

The museum confirmed the theft Tuesday afternoon on its microblog, but did not confirm the value of seven stolen items.

"Not as much as 1 billion yuan, but tens of millions to say the least," said Wang Xiahong, curator of the Hong Kong-based Liangyi Museum.

The exhibition of a mixed selection of rare curios was co-organized by the Palace Museum and the Liangyicang private museum in Hong Kong, which is owned by a Hong Kong collector named Feng Yaohui, Chang Lingxing, a public relations employee of the Palace Museum said.

The missing items are from the early 20th century and include objects like jewelry boxes, according to a press release issued by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau.

According to an inside source, police has already targeted a 27 years-old suscious man. However, this still has not confirmed by the City Public Security Bureau office.

The Palace Museum held a news conference Wednesday morning to release photos of the stolen pieces which may be on sale on the black-market.

A spokesman for Palace Museum apologized to its Hong Kong counterpart at the conference, admitting the heist is a shame for the internationally well-know museum and it takes full responsibility for that.

Exhibition halls, including the site of the theft in the east zone of the museum, have been closed to tourists since Tuesday noon, with the authorities not giving a clear date of when they will reopen.