Monday, 14th March 2005 (4051 views)

A former temple raider has described how he stole priceless Thai treasures to help secure the return of a gold crown from an American museum.

Li Kasemsang, now 78, has admitted he worked with a gang to steal 300lb of gold crowns, jewellery, statues and swords from one of the biggest temples in Thailand's ancient capital.

However, only 20 per cent of the items have been recovered and an ornate gold crown has only just been discovered in the US after it appeared in an exhibition last month.

It is believed this crown could have been stolen and the Thai prime minister is now working to retrieve the item, according to the Calcutta Daily Telegraph.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art listed the crown as "probably from the crypt of the main tower of Wat Ratchaburana, Ayutthaya", which is where Mr Kasemsang and his gang stole the items from.

"We take issues of provenance very seriously. We would of course be ready to explore any questions about the history of the object with the appropriate Thai officials, "Anne d'Harnoncourt, the director of the museum said.

 

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