104 paintings missing from H. Widayat Museum

MAGELANG. More than 100 paintings displayed at the H. Widayat Museum in Magelang, Central Java, have vanished.

Museum caretaker Iskandar said six people had visited him on Thursday and one of them, who claimed to be a shareholder of the museum, had asked him for the key.

"Since he said he was a shareholder of the museum, I handed him the key. He told me to stay in my house," Iskandar said Saturday evening as quoted by tempo.co.

"I was informed by the guards that 104 paintings had gone missing at 3 a.m.," Iskandar said.

Museum director Fajar Purnomo Sidi said he had been questioned by the police regarding the incident. He suspected the thief was one of the late artist Widayat’s 11 children.

In mid-2010, one of Widayat's sons also reported the suspected theft of his late father's paintings after discovering three paintings -- Sakura, Bis Kota and Andong -- at an auction house.

The H. Widayat Museum, which houses about 1,000 of Widayat's paintings, was officially opened to the public in April 1994 by former education minister Wardiman Djojonegoro.

(iwa / The Jakarta Post)