LAOS: Thieves Attempt to Steal Head of Buddha Statue From Temple in Northern-Central Laos

Worshippers at Ongtue Wat in Vientiane pray before two Buddha statues

A group of thieves tried to steal the head of an ancient Buddha statue on Wednesday from a Buddhist pagoda in a province in northern-central Laos, but ran away without the artifact after they were spotted by villagers, said the abbot of the temple where the statue is housed.

The would-be thieves cut off the head of the Buddha statue believed to be 500 years old in Soynangfa temple in Pek district, Xiengkhouang province, placed it on the ground, and ran away when villagers saw what they were doing, Ajarn Khamphan said.

It was the second time this year that thieves tried to steal the statue, he said. The abbot wasn’t certain how many people were involved in the attempted heist.

“Around two to three months ago there was a group of Vietnamese trying to steal the Buddha statue in this temple, but they were arrested by police,” he said.

The same group of thieves could be the ones who cut off the Buddha statue’s head on Wednesday, he added.

“This statue is over 500 years old, and villagers would like to build a wall around it to prevent it from being stolen,” Ajarn Khamphan said.

The villagers, who have reconnected the head to the statue, plan to build a separate shelter in which to keep the statue safe, he said.

In the meantime, district police are investigating the incident and have increased security inside the temple, he said.

A similar incident in January when a Vietnamese made off with a Buddha statue from a temple in the capital Vientiane also raised the ire of local Lao residents.

A Vietnamese bank executive took a Buddha statue believed to be about 500 years old from Ongtue Wat in Mixay village near the Mekong River in Chanthaburi district after the temple’s abbot had agreed to give it to him.

But the heritage department of the country’s Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism said the statue had been registered for national heritage status, and therefore, should not be taken out of the country.

Employees from the bank returned the statue to Ongtue Wat later the same day.

But when word got out, locals who live in the area were outraged at what they saw as yet another ploy by the Vietnamese to come into the country and take whatever they want.

The Lao people harbor some animosity towards their much larger neighbor, the second-largest investor in the country after China. Lao critics say the Vietnamese disregard their land rights, their livelihoods and their religious beliefs while profiting at their expense.