Reward offered for recovery of stolen Buddha statues
The original Buddha statues
A reward up to 50,000 yuan (US$7,709) has been announced by authorities for information leading to the recovery of 23 Buddha statues stolen from Guangyuan City in southwestern Sichuan Province, Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported.
The theft of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) stone statues was discovered during a field investigation in January this year, according to an official announcement issued on August 9.
Twelve of the statues were full-bodied and 11 were busts.
It is believed the statues were all carved more than 1,000 years ago into a cliff at a historic site in Wangcang County and were regarded as cultural relics under provincial-level protection.
Since the relics were found to be missing, authorities have launched task forces in several cities to recover them and bring the thieves to justice.
However, due to the remoteness of the site and lack of monitoring facilities, limited evidence has been found.
Ultimately the police decided to post a reward for information.
The local Public Security Bureau said it would step up the investigation to solve the case as soon as possible and recover the stolen statues.
Surveillance systems have been installed at the site and regular inspections are being carried out. Also, 13 people have been held accountable for the loss of the relics.
Images of some of the stolen relics.
