Mettler stole the painting in March 2018 while helping to vacate the office of Magashule. He removed the barcode and covered the painting with brown paper. He then offered the painting to Wei-Lun Hsu, for a loan of between R2 million and R3 million. “Hsu placed the painting in the newspapers to see if someone claimed it. A senior official from the Department of Public Works recognised the painting and contacted Mettler, requesting he return it. Mettler refused and a charge of theft was laid against him,” NPA regional spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said in a statement. Mettler will serve 15 years imprisonment after the court ordered the sentences to run concurrently.