Perhaps wanting to meditate on why his attachment to desire had caused him to steal a motorbike, a 22-year-old thief sought safety in a pagoda with his new wheels on Tuesday.

Officers said the man had pinched the ride from outside a market in Kandal before being the subject of a police chase.

To shake off his chasers, the man made a quick turn into the temple, hoping it would prove a place of refuge. But police witnessed it all and soon arrested him, proving karma can sometimes take effect almost immediately. KOH SANTEPHEAP