A Thai citizen was arrested in Poipet Monday for allegedly insulting Angkor Wat.
Banteay Meanchey provincial police arrested the man after he carved the shape of Angkor Wat in the concrete in front of a public toilet in the border town.
His act constituted “looking down” on Angkor Wat and was “against the will of Cambodian people,” a police official said, a penal crime under Cambodian law.
The suspect has not yet been sent to the court.
In 2003, rumors of Thai insults of Angkor Wat were enough to spark a night of riots and looting that destroyed the Thai Embassy and numerous Thai businesses in the capital.
The arrest also comes as Cambodia and Thailand are seeking to resolve a longrunning military standoff along the northern border.