Bogus Buddha in village scam probe
12 October 2017
The Ministry of Cults and Religion is investigating the actions of a man in Takeo province who has been passing himself off as a Buddha, duping villagers out of money, a scheme he has been arrested for in the past.
Ministry spokesman Seng Somony said a taskforce is investigating the actions of Thean Vuthy, who has been passing himself as a Buddha in Takeo after having done the same in Kandal province in 2014.

The ministry launched an investigation after photos of Mr Vuthy surfaced online, sitting on a throne pretending to be a Buddha with pictures of the late King Norodom Sihanouk beneath him along with worshippers.

“The ministry has already sent the religious taskforce committee and the officers in charge of Cults and Religion in Takeo province to see, inspect and investigate about his case,” Mr Somony said...
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5085810/bog ... cam-probe/

October 18, 2017
Bribery blights fake Buddha probe
The Ministry of Cults and Religion is to take action against the director of its provincial department in Takeo, after the senior civil servant allegedly took bribes from a man who has been passing himself off as a Buddha.

Ministry spokesman Seng Somony declined to comment yesterday but told local media on Monday that the ministry would discipline provincial department director Chuong Van for last week receiving money from Buddha impersonator Thean Vuthy.
“The department director received money from a man who passed off himself as a Buddha,” Mr Somony said. “That seriously impacts the ministry’s reputation.”

According to a video clip posted by a local news website, Mr Vuthy handed money to some officials including Mr Van and Tuy Kimsreang, the deputy governor of Prey Kabbas district, when they went to investigate his activities last week.
“I don’t want to bribe you, I just want to give you some money to have lunch,” Mr Vuthy said as he passed money to the officials...
http://www.khmertimeskh.com/5086640/bri ... dha-probe/

Looks legit. But how to tell ?

Here he is in his previous reincarnation in Kandal province in 2014.

‘Fake’ Buddha’s Followers Defend His Teachings
BY SEK ODOM AND HOLLY ROBERTSON | AUGUST 6, 2014
KOH THOM DISTRICT, Kandal province – In this rural part of Kandal province, a 35-meter-high statue of a mustachioed Buddha towers incongruously above the surrounding fields of corn and rice, providing a glimpse into the mystical world of Thean Vuthy.


Holy balony. Old thread with a description of his bygone splendour and plenty of photos of the illuminated one here, 3 years ago, when he was in his prime. :topic1597.html

‘Holy man’ or huckster?
Meeting Thean Vuthy, the self-proclaimed final Buddha who left the spotlight behind – but not controversy
20 October 2017
Several weeks ago, a video emerged on Facebook and local media of a man declaring himself the “Father of the Universe” and an anarhat – or “perfect person” in Sanskrit. Around him were pictures of the late King Norodom Sihanouk and King Suramarit, as well as a legion of faithful worshipers.

The video sparked an outcry from the public, especially since the man was putting himself on par, and even above, the monarchy, with one social media denizen declaring: “This fool has to be arrested and put in jail.”

Word spread on local media that the man in question was Thean Vuthy, who for years promoted himself as the Maitreya, or the next and final Buddha – a messiah-like figure who it is predicted will achieve complete enlightenment and teach the pure dharma.

In response, the Ministry of Cult and Religion paid Vuthy a visit last Thursday in Champa village, in Prey Kabbas district, but he denied that it was him in the video, and indeed there was little resemblance between him and the man depicted. Nonetheless, controversy surrounding Vuthy remains. It is not new, either, as the “holy man” has been on the government’s radar for years.

At his home last week, Vuthy, now 42, was dressed in his signature white robe and sitting on a bamboo bed in his backyard. Dozens of followers, also dressed in white, surrounded him.
Some of them addressed him as preah ang, a title for monks and royal family members, while the others call him lok ov, which means “lord father”...
Full article": http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/h ... -spotlight