UK jails men who stole US$6 million golden toilet from mansion
Two men who stole a US$6.4 million golden toilet from an English mansion were sentenced on Friday to more than two years in prison.
The 18-carat fully functioning toilet was on display as a piece of contemporary art at Blenheim Palace – the country mansion where British wartime leader Winston Churchill was born – when five burglars smashed a window and yanked it from its plumbing in a brazen early morning raid in September 2019. It was never recovered and was believed to have been chopped up and sold.
James Sheen, 40, a roofer who pleaded guilty to burglary, conspiracy and transferring criminal property was sentenced in Oxford Crown Court to four years in prison.
Michael Jones, 39, who worked for Sheen and was convicted of burglary at trial, was sentenced to two years and three months.
The toilet weighed just over 215 pounds (98kg) and was worth more than its weight in gold. The value of the gold at the time was £2.8 million (US$3.5 million), but it was insured for £4.7 million.
Guests wait for access to the exhibit of Maurizio Cattelan's 'America' a fully functional solid gold toilet, at The Guggenheim Museum in New York City in 2017. Photo: Reuters
The toilet was part of a satirical commentary on consumer culture, titled 'America' by Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Cattelan, whose work of a banana duct-taped to a wall was sold in 2024 for US$6.2 million at auction in New York.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
13 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
US singer Chris Brown pleads not guilty in London nightclub assault case
Grammy-winning singer Chris Brown pleaded not guilty on Friday to a charge related to the serious beating of a music producer with a bottle in a London nightclub in 2023. Brown, 36, wearing a blue suit, white shirt and black-rimmed glasses, was arraigned in London's Southwark Crown Court on one count of attempting to unlawfully and maliciously cause grievous bodily harm with intent. Brown's friend and fellow musician Omololu Akinlolu, 39, who performs under the name 'Hoody Baby' pleaded not guilty to the same charge. Prosecutors previously said Brown and Akinlolu assaulted producer Abe Diaw at a bar in the Tape nightclub in the swanky Mayfair neighbourhood in February 2023. Brown allegedly launched an unprovoked attack on Diaw and hit him several times with a bottle and then punched and kicked him. The attack was caught on surveillance camera in front of a club full of people, prosecutors said. Brown was originally charged with a single count of grievous bodily harm after his arrest in May, but prosecutors subsequently brought an indictment adding two counts: assault causing actual bodily harm and having an offensive weapon, a bottle.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- South China Morning Post
Chinese student gets 24 years' jail for raping women in UK and China
A Chinese student convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in Britain and China was jailed on Thursday for 24 years in a London court. Advertisement Zhenhao Zou, 28, who lived in south London, used online platforms and dating apps to meet women, inviting them to his home under the pretext of having drinks or studying before he drugged them. He then filmed himself raping and sexually assaulting the women while they were unconscious, keeping some of their jewellery and clothing afterwards. Zou was found guilty in March of 28 offences, including 11 counts of rape, after a trial at Inner London Crown Court. At Thursday's sentencing, he was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 24 years, minus time he had already spent in custody. Judge Rosina Cottage said Zou was 'a highly manipulative and intelligent young man who gave no thought at all of the wishes and feelings of the women' he attacked. The bedroom of the flat where Zou used to live. Photo: Reuters Detective Inspector Richard MacKenzie from London's Metropolitan Police said outside court: 'The sheer scale of his offending, which spanned two countries, makes him one of the most prolific predators we have ever seen.'
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Truck driver, 49, arrested after fatal bus-stop crash in Hong Kong
The driver of a truck involved in a recent fatal crash has been apprehended, the Post has learned, marking the second arrest in connection with the accident. Advertisement A source said on Wednesday that officers arrested the 49-year-old man over dangerous driving causing death. The suspect, a resident of Indian descent, allegedly drove the truck that rammed into a bus stop on Chatham Road North on Tuesday morning. A woman, 50, died after getting trapped beneath the truck, while a 33-year-old woman suffered injuries to the left side of her pelvis, knees and right palm. The truck driver had fled the scene after the crash. Advertisement On Tuesday, police arrested a 34-year-old man in connection with the crash. The Post has learned he is the owner of the truck and that he is still in police custody as of Wednesday afternoon.
