Monkey business

A pair of monkey statues uncovered Sunday by a Banteay Meanchey farmer are headed for Phnom Penh, where they will be examined by experts in a bid to determine their origin.

Chan Saroun, provincial director for the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, said that assistants of Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam Am had been sent down to retrieve the metallic statues, which are thought to hail from the Angkorian era.

“I do not know yet whether they will be kept in the National Museum or not, but we will bring them to show Men Sam An and then she will order where they will be kept,” he said.

Path Line, 38, who discovered the statues, has sought no compensation, Saroun added, only that he accompany the statues to the capital.

“The farmer did not ask any money from the officials, but he wants the honour from the government officials for offering the statues to them,” he said.