Angkor Wat murals missing

[boomerangutang]

I went in 2001 and, as much as anything else at Angkor, was impressed by the stone wall murals at the main temple complex.

They were between 2' and 7' from the ground and extended for many tens of meters.  Incredibly beautiful carvings on the gray shiny marble. 

 

I returned in Sept 2017, and all I saw was blank dirty white walls with a few holes.  Disappointed.   Where did they go?  Who took them?  

[Justfine]

Chinese tourists perhaps.

[boomerangutang]

My theories:

>>>  They were taken and put in a museum.  That would be similar to what the Greeks did with some of the Parthenon marbles.

>>>   Possibly taken by family members or friends of Hun Sen.  In Cambodia, nothing large-scale can be done without Hun Sen's blessing, and anything can be done with a nod from Hun Sen.