Firing leads to art theft

A man said he stole a painting worth 4 million yuan ($634,000) to take revenge for being fired by an art gallery in 798 Art District. He stood trial for burglary yesterday in Beijing No.2 Intermediate Court.

The accused, Zhang Min, broke into the Beijing gallery of Taiwanese-owned Soka Art Center at 798 on October 30, 2011. He replaced an oil painting with a replica he had prepared for the raid and fled with the genuine work, according to the Legal Mirror.

Zhang was arrested five days later. He said he had worked for Soka and was let go in 2011.