Plucky pensioner, 68, foils thieves’ attempt to steal head from ancient Buddha statue
Two members of crime gang end up in prison after cool-headed sexagenarian refuses to be paid off or shaken off
A 68-year-old Chinese woman has been given a 1,000 yuan (US$150) reward for single-handedly foiling an attempt by two men to steal the head from a 1,000-year-old Buddha relief carved into a rock face, according to local media.
The incident happened in July 2016, but was reported by news portal Thecover.cn on Thursday, the day the two would-be thieves – Zeng Zhongming and Chen Liangmin – were sentenced to prison terms of five years and nine months, and two years and five months respectively.
Pan Yuanju was with her husband Guo Shuming, a 75-year-old guard at Muyu Mountain in Anyue county, southwestern China’s Sichuan province, when she heard strange noises coming from the site of the ancient relics, the report said.
When she went to investigate she saw two men chopping the head off one of the Buddha carvings and immediately leapt into action.
When the thieves heard her cries for help, they tried to silence her with a 600-yuan bribe, but Pan was having none of it. She lunged at the pair who pushed her aside and ran to their waiting van.