Man Accused Of Breaking Off Terra-Cotta Warriors Thumb For Souvenir

Some peoples idea of justice is an eye for an eye, but China wants severe punishment for a man who stole a clay thumb.

Michael Rohana, 24, was charged last week for allegedly breaking a thumb off the left hand of a 2,000-year-old terra-cotta warrior on display at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. The incident is said to have occurred in December while he attended the museums ugly Christmas sweater party.

The FBI said Rohana snuck away from the party and used a cellular telephone as a flashlight to look at exhibits that were displayed in a closed-off showroom.

At one point, he stepped up onto a platform supporting one of the statues on display and took a selfie, according to Chinas Xinhua News Agency.

Security cameras show Rohana putting his hand on the left hand of the statue, and then appearing to break something off from its left hand and put it in his pocket before leaving the room, according to an arrest affidavit.

FBI says U.S. man stole thumb of Chinese terracotta warrior statue displayed at a Philadelphia museum pic.twitter.com/5dXOTYtWWY

CCTV (@CCTV) February 19, 2018","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"CCTV","author_url":"https://twitter.com/CCTV","cache_age":86400,"description":"FBI says U.S. man stole thumb of Chinese terracotta warrior statue displayed at a Philadelphia museum pic.twitter.com/5dXOTYtWWY CCTV (@CCTV) February 19, 2018\n\n","provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":360,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DWYKkKxXUAALDYQ.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":640,"title":"CCTV on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/CCTV/status/965470788848627712","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"5a8b2fd9e4b0117adf70ea06","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/michael-rohana-terra-cotta-warrior-thumb_n_5a8b2fd9e4b0117adf70ea06","entryTagsList":"china,asian-voices,art-museums,chinese-art,franklin-institute,@health_depression,@health_erectile,@health_ibs,@health_models","sectionSlug":"world-news","deptSlug":"politics-news","sectionRedirectUrl":null,"subcategories":"crime,arts,weird-news","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.world-news","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mNkYAAAAAYAAjCB0C8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":9},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"5a8b2fd9e4b0117adf70ea06","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"China","slug":"china","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/china","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/china","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/china"},"relegenceId":3862702,"department":{"name":"Latest News","slug":"politics-news"},"section":{"title":"World News","slug":"world-news"},"topic":{"title":"China","slug":"china","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/news/topic/china"},{"name":"asian voices","slug":"asian-voices","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/asian-voices","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/asian-voices","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/asian-voices"},"department":{"name":"Voices","slug":"voices"},"section":{"title":"Asian Voices","slug":"asian-voices"},"topic":{"title":"Asian Voices","slug":"asian-voices","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/voices/topic/asian-voices"},{"name":"art museums","slug":"art-museums","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/art-museums","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/art-museums","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/art-museums"},"department":{"name":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment"},"section":{"title":"Culture & Arts","slug":"arts"},"topic":{"title":"Art","slug":"art","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/entertainment/topic/art"},{"name":"chinese art","slug":"chinese-art","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/chinese-art","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/chinese-art","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/chinese-art"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/chinese-art"},{"name":"Franklin institute","slug":"franklin-institute","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/franklin-institute","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/franklin-institute","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/franklin-institute"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/franklin-institute"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false,"enhancements":{}}">

FBI says U.S. man stole thumb of Chinese terracotta warrior statue displayed at a Philadelphia museum pic.twitter.com/5dXOTYtWWY
CCTV (@CCTV) February 19, 2018

The museumgoer allegedly took the clay digit to his home in Bear, Delaware, as a souvenir. He is now accused of theft of an artwork from a museum, concealment of the artwork and interstate transportation of stolen property, according to The New York Times.

The statues featured in the Franklins Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor exhibit are some of thousands discovered in Chinas Xian city in 1974 by a group of farmers, according to the BBC. They are considered one of Chinas most important archeological finds.

The vandalized statue is worth quite a thumb, er, sum: $4.5 million.

The broken-off thumb wasnt reported missing until Jan. 8, at which point the FBIs Art Crime Team was contacted. The agency used the video as well as credit card information from the party to finger Rohana as the thumb thief.

Rohana allegedly attended the party with five friends, one of whom told investigators she heard the suspect mention the thumb on the ride home, according to USA Today.

Another friend said Rohana posted a photo of a finger from a terra-cotta warrior on Snapchat a day after the party.