Finnish tourist Marko Kulju has been arrested for attempting to steal parts of the Easter Island Statues. The tourist was spotted breaking one into 20-30 cm pieces.

According to IOL, Easter Island’s Moai statues were carved between 400 and 1000 years ago and are of historical value.

Twenty-six-year-old Marko Kulju is in custody after his tattoos gave him away. A woman said she surprised him as he broke off part of the ear from a statue above Anakena beach then fled with the hunk of rock.

The BBC reports that Kuliju would face a seven years of imprisonment along with $1900 (about R15 000) fine.

Police on the Pacific island, which is an overseas territory of Chile, said a woman had seen him rip off the earlobe, which then fell and broke into pieces. The earlobe then fell to the ground and broke into 20-30cm pieces, at least one of which Mr Kulju allegedly attempted to steal, Mr Gonzalez added.

It also quotes Liliana Castro, a government official in Chile, commenting on the arrest.

“Fortunately, this type of thing does not happen every day but it does happen and it is almost impossible to control because on Easter Island there are sites of great archaeological value everywhere and the park guards cannot prevent all such incidents.”

Photo:© romkey

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