Cambodia moves to prosecute Wellington woman over broken Buddha statue

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A Wellington woman who confessed to destroying a Buddha statue in Cambodia's historic Angkor Wat complex could soon be charged by authorities in Siem Reap.

Prosecutors in the popular tourist destination have begun compiling a case against Willemijn Vermaat, a Dutch national who lives in Wellington, The Cambodia Daily reports.

Dr Vermaat was reportedly questioned by the Apsara Authority on October 11 after the statue was broken at Angkor Wat, but was not arrested.

A tour guide, Samnang Hem, said on Facebook that Dr Vermaat went to Angkor Wat in a tuk tuk but subsequently disappeared and the tuk tuk driver informed police.

She was later found at Bayon temple where she went inside the central tower and allegedly destroyed the statue.

Angkor Wat is a Buddhist temple complex built in the early 12th Century which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Days after the incident, the 40-year-old returned to Wellington, where she admitted to local media that she had destroyed the statue.

The chief of Siem Reap's heritage protection police said he decided to file a court complaint against her this week based on those confessions.

"We have already filed a complaint with the provincial court prosecutor, accusing the New Zealand woman of destroying the statue, as she confessed through the website that she did," said Man Chhoeun.

"We requested that the court deal with the woman according to the law."

Apsara Authority deputy director Im Sok Rithy said they want to bring Dr Vermaat to court.

"We are working with national and international lawyers to prepare a document to take action on this case," he told The Cambodia Daily.

Dr Vermaat said she wasn't aware that the matter had gone to court.

"I'm not worried. I didn't do anything wrong," she told NZ Newswire last night.

http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/cambodia-moves-prosecute-wellington-woman-over-broken-buddha-statue-6114620

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Toppled statue back in Bayon

Fri, 24 October 2014

Thik Kaliyann

Siem Reap

The Buddha statue allegedly toppled and broken into four pieces by New Zealand tourist Willemijn Vermaat was reinaugurated in a ceremony at the ancient Bayon temple in Siem Reap yesterday morning.

More than a hundred people attended the three-hour event held by the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (Apsara Authority), which oversees the Angkor Wat complex.

Villagers laid flowers at the foot of the statue as a group of sixteen monks chanted and burned incense.

Ten Apsara officials carried the heavy, 1-metre statue back into the heart of the temple, returning it to its place.

Apsara director Bun Narith said the statue’s sacred powers were “now fully restored”.

The statue, a replica installed in the temple in 1988 after the original was damaged, was repaired on October 15 by Apsara restoration workers.

Narith said Apsara will now crack down on lone temple wanderers.“Even though we have a sign which informs tourists that the temple closes at 5:30pm, our officials at the temple will double-check the enclosures. They have to make sure there are no more tourists in the temple after 5:30pm,” he said.

Vermaat told New Zealand media last week that she was told to leave the premises after staying past the temple’s closing time, but hid in the jungle and snuck back in when the coast was clear.

Vermaat then said she pushed the statue under the orders of a mystical spirit goddess.

Friends of Vermaat, who is now back in New Zealand, expressed concern she was struggling with personal issues.

The Post reported on Wednesday that charges have been filed in Vermaat’s case.

Siem Reap Provincial Court officials confirmed this but declined to elaborate, citing further investigation.

Narith said Apsara had already asked advice from the Council of Jurists at Cambodia’s Council of Ministers on how to proceed with the case.