Three burglars who carried out a record-breaking US$637 million art heist in Hong Kong but remained oblivious to the value of their historic haul were jailed on Friday, local media reported.

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Hong Kong’s art community was rocked by the theft that included a two-metre tall scroll containing a 1929 Politburo report written by Mao Zedong valued at hundreds of millions of dollars – but was sold to an amateur collector for just HK$200 (US$25).

When police recovered the parchment a month after it was stolen, they discovered it had been cut in half to make it easier to store by the collector, who also did not realise it was genuine.

A calligraphy letter and handwritten poem by Mao remain missing, as do dozens of sets of highly prized Chinese stamps, the Post reported. 

A collector who received some of the goods alerted the police once he realised the items were stolen.