Thai national arrested for drawing Angkor Wat on bathroom floor

Source: earthtimes.org
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 thetemple, 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.