France concerned over theft of valuable crown
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THE theft of an ancient Siamese crown given to the Emperor Napoleon III by King Rama IV has been a cause of great concern for French authorities and prompted a pursuit of the stolen item, Culture Minister Veera Rojpojanarat quoted the Thai ambassador to F
Veera passed the message on to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha after speaking to Ambassador Apichart Chinwanna. The PM wants the issue to be followed closely.
Borvornvate Rungrujee, director general of the Fine Arts Department, said the item could not be sold openly because it has been registered as an artefact. The theft may have been ordered by a collector, he added, or the item may be sold on the black market. In order to prevent similar heists in Thailand, more than 100 surveillance cameras have been installed at all 44 museums nationwide along with 24-hour security, he added.
Veera has earlier cited a document by the Foreign Ministry referring to the stolen crown as “Phra Maha Mongkut Longya”, which is a replica of the crown “Phra Maha Phichai Mongkut” that is currently stored at the Grand Palace.
