One can understand why people say “drink responsibly” as when someone is intoxicated they are bound to do some very stupid things. 24-year-old, Michael Rohana of Bear, Delaware is a perfect example. Mr. Rohana, who was drunk, “sneaked into the Franklin Institute’s Terracotta Warriors of The First Empire special exhibit in December and snapped the thumb” of one of the statues. He also was attending an “Ugly Sweater Party” at the museum that night when he shoved the finger in his pocket and kept it in his “desk drawer” for over “three weeks, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The surveillance video at the museum reportedly showed the young man in a “fuzzy green sweater and Philly’s cap” sneaking into the closed museum, taking pictures with his friends and selfies with the “4.5 million Cavalryman statue”, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. According to The New York Post, authorities quickly noticed that the thumb was missing, and were able to catch the thief. Rohana also admitted to the crime or “drunken mistake” as New York Post puts it.
The New York Post states that: the statue was amongst the “8,000 life-sized warriors that made up the Terracotta army, they were built by Chinese Emperor Quin Shi Huang, who died in 210 BCE and believed they’d serve as protection in the afterlife. The Terracotta Warriors is a popular exhibit; it notably features a Chinese army in formation and people love visiting this site when wanting to learn more about Chinese culture.
The good news is that Stephanie Stefano, a spokesperson for the Franklin Institute stated that “the thumb will be reunited with the warrior, and the statue repaired,” according to, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Mr. Rohana was “released on bail” according to BBC News. China was understandably outraged at the crime; according to The New York Times an “unidentified official” told the communist newspaper “Beijing Youth Daily”, “We call on the American side to severely punish the person who committed this destruction and theft of mankind’s cultural heritage.” Stealing from museums is unfortunately nothing new as these pieces of work are worth a lot of money, and thieves have stolen these valuables with more sinister motives in mind, Watch out Leonardo Da Vinci cause Van Gogh’s paintings are extremely valuable: in 2020, a Van Gogh painting went missing from a Dutch museum, the robber reportedly “broke into the museum using a sledgehammer”, and in 2002 not one, but two of Van Gogh’s pieces were stolen from an Amsterdam museum; luckily authorities got a hold of the thieves who happened to have been connected to the Camorra Mafia according, to Art News.
Everyone loves parties, they can truly be a blast, taking one or two sips of one’s favorite alcoholic beverage is nothing catastrophic, but balance and self-control are very important and necessary if one wants to protect their life as well as others’ lives and avoid criminal charges. I’m also sure that after this incident Michael and anyone else attending a party is going to want to drink more responsibly next time.
