A sculpture that stood in Shanghai's Huangpu river has been destroyed by Chinese officials on Wednesday after landowners admitted it was a copy of Wendy Taylor's iconic 1973 Timepiece. 

The alleged plagiarized piece was displayed at Dongcheng Riverfront Garden.

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Earlier, a PR consultant stationed at the Pudong New Area Planning and Land Authority explained that investigations were still ongoing to uncover who did the item and to determine which department was in charge, according to a report by the Strait Times.

"If the sculpture is proven to be an infringement of the British artist's intellectual property rights, she can report to the city's intellectual property administration," the PR consultant said.

He explained that his department took over the garden in 2009, three years after it had been established, and that no information regarding the art piece had been left behind.

Former deputy director at the Shanghai Urban Sculpture Center Zheng Jiashi explained that if at all there was any sign of infringement in intellectual property rights, then the piece would be removed.

Meanwhile, Taylor who was still in shock regarding what she first thought was a photoshop explained that the only unique character with the Chinese replica piece was that the time angle has been altered.

"I know it happens and I have had works copied before," she said. "They always say it is a coincidence but in this case, it is absolutely blatant."

According to a report by China.com, Taylor had reported the incident to the artist's rights organization as well as both the Chinese and British government.

China has thousands of street sculptures that are used to appeal to every individual present in society.

Tagschina, British, Plagiarism, timepiece, Art plagiarism