The owner of the River Grass restaurant in Kampong Cham province has been asked to dismantle an artificial statue of the Nokor Bachey Temple’s tower that was made of foam and differed from the original design.

The request came from the provincial Department of Culture and Fine Arts and the owner did not object.

Culture and Fine Arts director Soeung Phearum told The Post on Wednesday his department, along with the provincial tourism department and the heritage police inspected the model before deciding it should be taken down.

Phearum said the artificial statue had a different shape from the original Khmer style and was divided into two parts.

For this reason, restaurant owner Peng Chhun was asked to cooperate to protect, preserve and promote the national cultural heritage. He was asked to completely dismantle the piece within three days.

“I have told him to dismantle this artificial tower from September 1 to 3. I will inspect the place again. The restaurant owner agreed to dismantle it and intends to put a new statue in its place that is not related to Khmer heritage.

“The Department of Culture and Fine Arts is all praise for the River Grass restaurant, but what is inappropriate and ugly is the splitting of the Nokor Bachey temple’s tower into two.

“Nokor Bachey is the national soul and Khmer culture that the Cambodian government is taking care of, but he didn’t learn completely about it and made it different from the original form of the temple,” Phearum said.

River Grass has created a variety of creative images for display and for guests to visit and take pictures. The restaurant is located in Village 2, Veal Vong commune, Kampong Cham town, Kampong Cham province.

Chhun told The Post on Wednesday that he was looking for a new statue to replace it as he didn’t want to have any problems. He only wants to see visitors happy.

“I have regrets because of the different interpretations, and my place is a small private place that I like to decorate to please myself and make others happy too,” Chhun said.