Three people have been arrested for stealing a pair of 400-year-old candle holders from the world famous Ming imperial tombs near the Chinese capital city.
The suspects -- two people from Beijing and one from central China's Henan Province -- have been implicated in organised relic theft, Beijing police said.
The mausoleums were built for the emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The missing white marble candle holders, which were about 90 centimetres tall and weighed 200 kilogrammes each, belong in front of the mausoleum of the last Ming emperor Chongzhen.
According to a police officer, the candle holders went missing in May but officials tried to cover up their theft by saying they had been sent for repairs, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The candle holders were a hot topic online last month when a visitor shared contrasting photographs of the tombs.
In the newer images, two vases and an incense burner were still there but the candle holders, which were visible in older photographs, were gone, leaving only their bases.
A media official with Changping government said the Ming Tombs Special Area Agency admitted on March 20 that the candle holders had gone missing.
Four officials were sacked for "incompetence" on Thursday.
About 40 kilometres north of downtown Beijing, the Ming Tombs were listed as UNESCO World Heritage site in 2003.
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