Siamese place Angkor Wat picture in front of the bathroom next to the foot mat

The offending picture

17 May 2010
DAP news
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

Siem Reap province - On 16 May 2010, a group of Siamese staying at the Sofitel Phokeetra Golf and Spa Resort placed a picture of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat in front of the bathroom next to the foot mat.

Chhuon Rithy, the union president for the Sofitel resort, told DAP at 10AM that on Sunday, a group of Cambodian workers at the hotel opposed the placement of this picture because they believe that this is tantamount to looking down on Angkor Wat temple which represents Cambodia. He added that the Siamese refused to take the picture out, claiming that what they did was for greeting guests, not to look down [on Angkor Wat]. However, because of the displeasure and the opposition of the Cambodian workers, the Siamese finally removed the picture out art 3:30PM.

Chhuon Rithy indicated that the hotel owner, who is also a Siamese, rather than scolding his Siamese people, turned around and scolded the Cambodian employees who work there, saying that they did not administer properly. At the time of the scolding, the Siamese visitors were still staying at this hotel in Siem Reap.

Thai national arrested for drawing Angkor Wat on bathroom floor

Tue, 11 Aug 2009
DPA

Phnom Penh - A Thai man was arrested for living illegally in Cambodia for more than ten years and for drawing an image of Angkor Wat on his bathroom floor, national media reported. Police arrested Salavout Khamsan, 35, in Poipet in western Cambodia after neighbours saw the drawing of Cambodia's famous temple and told the authorities.

Poipet police chief Nuth Ly said the man had "desecrated the precious temple which is a World Heritage site."

The provincial police chief, Hun Hean, said the explanation given by the man - that he drew the image out of affection for the temple, and not to demean it - was not good enough.

"It is just an excuse, because he could have drawn it on paper and posted it on a wall," he said. "Or he could buy a painting or a postcard with an image of Angkor, not draw it in front of a toilet and step on it."

Salavout Khamsan, a construction worker who entered Cambodia in 1998 through the Poipet checkpoint, faces up to six months in jail for visa violations.

Hun Hean said it is not clear which law will be used for punishing the alleged crime of drawing Angkor Wat on the bathroom floor.

Thai Arrested for Insulting Angkor Wat

The arrested Thai citizen sitting in front of the toilet adorned concrete depiction of Angkor Wat as a stepping stone (All photos: DAP-news)
The arrested man with the picture of Angkor Wat removed from the front of his toilet

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
10 August 2009

A Thai citizen was arrested in Poipet Monday for allegedly insulting Angkor Wat.

Banteay Meanchey provincial police arrested the man after he carved the shape of Angkor Wat in the concrete in front of a public toilet in the border town.

His act constituted “looking down” on Angkor Wat and was “against the will of Cambodian people,” a police official said, a penal crime under Cambodian law.

The suspect has not yet been sent to the court.

In 2003, rumors of Thai insults of Angkor Wat were enough to spark a night of riots and looting that destroyed the Thai Embassy and numerous Thai businesses in the capital.

The arrest also comes as Cambodia and Thailand are seeking to resolve a long-running military standoff along the northern border.