Angkor Wat (Reuters)
A Wellington woman accused of destroying a Buddha statue in Cambodia's historic Angkor Wat complex says it was a fake.
Cambodian media reported Willemijn Vermaat was arrested by the Apsara Authority on Saturday morning after allegedly destroying the statue, but she was subsequently released.
NZ Newswire phoned Dr Vermaat after she returned home last night and she said she was too tired to give an interview and wanted to speak to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade first.
However, she confirmed that she had not been falsely accused of the damage.
"I was there at the right time, at the right moment," she told NZN.
"It was a fake statue anyway."
One Cambodian report says the statue dates from the late 12th century but had been broken into several pieces when later discovered and restored in 1988.
A tour guide, Samnang Hem, said on Facebook that Dr Vermaat went to Angkor Wat in a tuk tuk but subsequently disappeared and the tuk tuk driver informed police.
She was later found at Bayon temple where she went inside the central tower and allegedly destroyed the statue.
"I strongly suggest our government arrest her back and punish under law of Cambodia. She destroyed our Buddha statue with purpose at central tower of Bayon temple," he said in a post.
Dr Vermaat moved from the Netherlands to New Zealand in 2006. She is listed on the New Zealand Union of Students' Associations website as its quality support manager.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said earlier on Monday that neither it nor the New Zealand Embassy in Bangkok had been advised or approached for assistance in relation to the reported incident.
Angkor Wat is a Buddhist temple complex built in the early 12th Century which is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
NZN
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