Beijing police have made an arrest in the case of the daring theft from the Forbidden City's Palace Museum on Monday. A 28-year-old out-of-towner called Shi Baikui was reportedly apprehended in an internet café in south western Beijing late last night (Wednesday), and has confessed. How many of the stolen items have been recovered has not been confirmed, though the stated value of the items has risen, with official media now reporting the nine stolen items were worth some $4.6 million, up from the $1.5 million quoted earlier.

The theft — from a temporary exhibition of early 20th century decorative pieces on loan from Hong Kong's private Liang Yi Museum — has been a massive embarrassment for the Palace Museum, which has previously boasted of its impenetrable security system. As recently as May 11 a report on the website of official communist party organ the People's Daily had claimed that the Museum's anti-theft measures made their treasures "sacred and inviolable." However, despite 100 patrol dogs, more than 1,600 anti-theft alarms and 3,700 cameras the thief reportedly managed to knock a hole through a wall to gain access to the Palace of Abstinence where the exhibition was staged. He got away with nine pieces, including gold- and jewel-encrusted purses and compact cases, with his escape being captured on video.

The Palace Museum has apologized for the theft: its official spokesperson Feng Nai'en bowed in regret to a representative of the Liang Yi Museum at a specially convened photo-op. What effect the theft might have on any future special exhibitions is yet to be determined.

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Meanwhile, China's microbloggers continue to enjoy the Museum's humiliation with many delighting at how their sophisticated security was bested by such a clearly unprofessional thief. The Museum is reportedly investigating the possibility the thief had inside help.