[MSN] Bangkok: TEMPLE THIEVES GET DARING; Few stolen goods are ever retrieved.

[MSN]

TEMPLE THIEVES GET DARING

Few stolen goods are ever retrieved

Story and photos by SUNTHORN PONGPAO:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/

An increase in robberies of valuable artifacts from ancient temples in the
former capital city are driving monks to despair.

One recent heist which shocked Buddhists the most was the removal of gold
foil from two large reclining Buddha images - Phra Buddhasaiyart Mongkol
Sanpetch and Phra Buddhasaiyart Mongkol Chinawat - at Bang Plamaw temple in
tambon Namtao of Ayutthaya's Bang Ban district. The robbers also extracted
gold from the gate of the temple's ordination hall.

Temple abbot Phra Maha Prasert Jantawiro, 53, said losses were put at 15
million baht.

Temple robberies mostly involve the theft of ancient Buddha images and
valuables such as dharma cabinets and brass accessories.

Few stolen goods are ever retrieved.

Four other robberies took place at Wat Choengtha, Wat Bamrungtham, Wat
Kudilai, and Wat Bang Plamaw over a period of just two months in Ayutthaya.

Phra Mali Thammathaso, the 51-year-old acting abbot of Wat Choengtha, said
thieves stole eight sema - leaf-like boundary stones - from around the
temple's old ordination hall in the early hours of Jan 2 this year.

"The sema are priceless. They were with the temple for ages," the monk said.

Thieves also broke into the ordination hall late last year but did not get
anything, he said.

"Everything had been stolen over the past 10 years, so there was nothing
else left in the hall to take," he said. Most temples possessing precious
artifacts have to take care of their property themselves.

They resort to mundane tactics, such as replacing ancient artifacts with
cheap objects. Many temples have placed coffee containers as a substitute
for brass vases, steel plates for gongs, and earthenware pots for joss-stick
holders.

Phra Yanatrailok, secretary to chief of the Ayutthaya Sangha Office, has
warned monks in more than 400 temples in Ayutthaya to be on alert for
robberies. He advises monks to take photographs of all valuable objects and
help police and villagers guard their compounds.

"Robbers are targeting antique objects," said Phra Yanatrailok, also abbot
of Wat Kasatratiraj.

Sirichai Wanglerttrakul, expert from the Fine Arts Ministry who recently
inspected the damaged statues at Wat Bang Plamaw, confirmed it was the work
of robbers, and not humidity as some people suspected.

"The foil was intentionally removed. The thieves used chemicals to make the
gold come out," he said.

Anake Sihamart said it was the first time he could recall where robbers
targeted gold from large Buddha statues.

Previously, they focussed on individual antiques.

"But this happened back in the Ayutthaya period.

Back then, people caught in the act were threatened with harsh punishment.
Authorities would force-feed them with boiling prasan thong liquid, the
chemical used in the gold-making process," he said.

Experts said one-baht weight of gold could be turned into 5,000 gold leaves,
used by Buddhists who attach them to Buddha statues during a merit-making
ceremony.

A source said the theft of gold foil could stem from rising demand in the
Buddha amulet market. Buyers want gold from ancient Buddha statues, which
are thought to be sacred, for use in the frames of Buddha amulets.

Pol Maj-Gen Naret Nanthachote, chief of Ayutthaya police, said police had
made no progress.

Ayutthaya governor Cherdphan na Songkhla urged villagers to help authorities
guard the temples and ancient artifacts. "Many temples have only old monks
who cannot fight the robbers," he said. 

http://www.bangkokpost.com/