Volume 86, Issue 113
Royal Gazette
16 December 2512
Note: The grounds for promulgation of this Act are as follows: Since it now appears that outlaws have been stealing from sanctuaries and museums a large number of precious Buddha images which are adored and worshipped by Buddhist devotees and are of historical value, of which some are palladiums of provinces, local people are suffering a great grief over the loss of objects of Buddhist worship. Moreover, the stealing of Buddha images in certain localities has been committed through display of serious cruelty and immorality, such as cutting and taking away heads of Buddha images, leaving only their bodies, without caring that they are national religious treasures. This is considered to be detrimental to the Nation and injurious to the Buddhist religion. This type of persons, including those receiving the stolen goods and exporting them abroad, ought to be given a harsher punishment than [that for the offences] committed against private property in general. [However,] resorting to the existing punishments under the old Penal Code [is impossible], as they are extremely light and not sufficient to prevent [the crimes]. For these reasons, the Penal Code ought to be altered in regard to this matter, so that it become more suitable for preventing and protecting invaluable property of the Nation from being totally taken out to foreign countries, before it is too late!
