Photo of damaged Yeay Tep statue.

Siem Reap provincial authorities are seeking the arrest of a man who used his belt and shoe to damage the statue of Yeay Tep in Siem Reap City last Monday.

The Yeay Tep statue is located in the middle of National Road 6 just past the Royal Residence between the river and Sivatha Boulevard. It is respected by many locals as well as visitors, who often pay their respects to the statue before visiting the Angkor temple complex.

According to an announcement last Wednesday, security camera footage showed a man using his belt to strike the statue’s legs and his shoe to beat her face at 11:36pm on January 23.
“This uneducated man beat the Yeay Tep statue. It broke her nose and removed some paint spots from the statue,” read the announcement...
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/34866/ ... ed-statue/

One of the most revered statues in SR. The guy is lucky he did not get caught....

Siem Reap's much-loved Ya Tep spirit shrine was vandalised for the second time this year.

Man arrested over Ya Tep shrine attack

A man has been arrested for damaging part of the popular Ya Tep shrine in Siem Reap.

Ya Tep, which is said to house a powerful local spirit and attracts many worshippers, is located on a traffic circle opposite the royal residence and close to the historic Preah Ang Chek Preah Ang Chom shrine.

The incident occurred at midnight on Tuesday, when a man who police say has mental health problems attacked a swan-shaped candle holder in front of the shrine.

First Lieutenant Bun Heang, the deputy chief of Svay Donkum commune police, identified the suspect as 34-year-old Chhoeun Chhert, who is living in Sot Nikum district. “He has mental health problems,” Mr. Heang said. “First he broke the head of the candle-holder and then the tail.”
Mr. Heang said the suspect was unaware of what he had done when officers arrested him.

In January, the Ya Tep shrine was attacked by unknown assailants, causing damage to the neck and nose of the statue.
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/36785/ ... ne-attack/

Different version. The statue smasher is not mentally ill, just angry at his wife.

Hot-headed husband takes heads off statues
Thu, 23 March 2017

Betrayed by his wife, a local Siem Reap man didn’t just stop at cursing the gods, he went ahead and snapped the necks of Hindu deity statues in Siem Reap town.

Alerted to the faceless figures by locals, police arrived at the scene and found the disgruntled husband near the statues, which had also been damaged in January.

Upon questioning, the vexed vandal admitted to defacing the statues on both occasions, telling police he was angry with his wife after suspecting her of being disloyal.

The suspect was sent to court.
KAMPUCHEA THMEY