| Tue, March 21, 2006 :
http://nationmultimedia.com/2006/03/21/headlines/headlines_20003221.php Much-revered Phra Prom statue destroyed
A man described to be mentally-deranged hammered the much-revered
statue of Pra Prom or Brahma creator god at the Hyatt Erawan Hotel
and reduced it into pieces before he was killed by bystanders.
A garland vendor said she saw the man standing up on the base of the
statue and hammered away the statue into pieces.
Only the part of lap and base of the statue were left intact. Its
head was broken and fell off to the ground. Officials put up white
cloth to hide the statue.
The man, who was later identified as Thanakorn Pakdeepol, 27, was
assaulted by people near the scene and died about 50 metres away
from the Pra Prom shrine.
The garland vendor, Wandee Wichai, 42, said she saw the man
hammering the statue at 1 am and she shouted for help.
"I've been selling garlands here for 30 years but I've never seen
this man. He appeared like a mad man while hammering Pra Prom,"
Wandee said.
The man fled but was later caught up by some taxi drivers and people
started to beat him up.
Pol Maj Gen Krissasda Phankhongchuen, deputy metropolitan police
commissioner, said the man, who suffered severe injuries on his
head, was barely alive when police arrived at the scene, which was
on the opposite side of road from the Police Hospital.
He said police later arrested two garbage collectors and found an
iron bar which one of them used to beat the man.
His father, Sayan Pakdeepol, told police at the Lumpini Police
station that his son had been suffering from depression since he was
conscripted into military service when he was 21 years old.
Sayan said he talked to his son at about 8 pm and he left home,
which was in the same neighbourhood with the shrine, at midnight.
The father said he had not heard from his son after learning that he
was killed.
"My son arrived home at 8 pm and went to bed. I went upstairs to his
room to give him cold drug but he appeared angry and threatened to
harm people in the house," Sayan said.
"He left the house ad midnight and I don't know where he was so I
called 191 police to inform them for fear that he would assault
other people."
Although Brahama statue belongs to a Hindi god it is much revered by
Thai Buddhists and Buddhists from other Asian countries who flocked
to the statue to pay respect and ask for blessing.
Foreign tourists also like to visit the shrine to see traditional
dancers, who were hired by those had seen their wishes come true,
perform.
Wed, March 22, 2006
http://nationmultimedia.com/2006/03/22/headlines/headlines_20003314.php
Man beaten to death after desecrating the Erawan Shrine
A young Thai man, believed to be mentally ill, almost completely
destroyed one of Bangkok's most revered religious images, the statue
of Brahma, the Hindu god of creation, at Rajprasong intersection
early yesterday morning, after which he was beaten to death by a
group of angry bystanders.
The Erawan shrine housing the statue is one of the city's most
popular tourist spots and regularly attracts crowds of worshippers,
both locals and tourists.
A new Brahma statue will be completed and placed in the shrine
within two months. However, the shrine will be open for the public
to pay its respects from today with four photographs of the statue
facing out from the shrine.
A decision has yet to be made about the material to be used for the
new statue. Plaster will keep its essence, but nine types of metal
mixed with some surviving pieces of the old statue will ensure its
durability. Surviving fragments include the face, head and weapons,
said Religious Affairs Department director-general Preecha Gungeeya.
Two street sweepers from Pathum Wan district office have been
arrested and charged with the second-degree murder of Thanakorn
Phakdeephol, whose father Sayant said he had a history of mental
illness and had received psychiatric treatment six years ago when he
was 21.
Sayant said his son disappeared from his house around midnight after
showing the symptoms of mental illness. He later heard a radio news
report that a man with anti-allergy pills found in his pants had
been beaten after destroying the Brahma statue.
"It kind of hit me, learning of that detail, so I went to the [Lumpini]
police station and found out that it was my son.
"I feel sorry that he destroyed the Brahma statue, which is highly
respected by Thai people," he said.
Lumpini police station chief, Colonel Suphisal Phakdeenaruenart,
said he was investigating whether there were any other people
involved in the attack on Thanakorn.
Quoting witnesses, police said Thanakorn climbed onto the shelter
housing the statue and, using a large hammer he was carrying,
pounded it until all that was left of the statue were its legs. A
number of visitors to the shrine were seen weeping after witnessing
the desecration.
Saksri Klinbua, one of the arrested street sweepers, claimed he
smacked Thanakorn only once in the head with a stick in self defence
after Thanakorn charged him with the hammer in his hand. He said
Thanakorn then knocked his head on the ground after a loop on his
trousers snared on a steel fence as he jumped over it to get away.
Police said the other man arrested, Kasemsak Karunwong, had admitted
to assaulting Thanakorn.
After the attack, Thanakorn lay close to a stairway to a nearby
department store with blood running from his mouth. There was a
four-inch wound caused by a blunt object to his head, a cut on his
left eyebrow and many bruises on his back. He died before being
taken to the Police Hospital, across Rajdamri road.
Khanittha, the wife of Saksri, claims she saw her husband smack
Thanakorn only once.
"There were other people running after him and they later assaulted
him but I don't know who [they were] or how many of them [there
were]," she said.
Monthathip Poo
The Nation
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