Khmer treasures go home

Culture Minister Teera Slukpetch said yesterday that he had sent documents relating to the sculpted head of a god and six giant stone busts to the Cabinet Secretary's Office and the next step was for the Foreign Affairs Ministry to present the case to Cabinet.

Fine Arts Department chief Kriengkrai Sampatchalit said that another 36 artefacts claimed by the Cambodians would not be returned until sufficient evidence of their origin could be found. The department is currently examining 100 artefacts seized by Thai customs in an effort to discover which country they belong to, he added.