At 1pm yesterday (Sept 17), Vice Governor Pallop Singhanaenee held a meeting with the committee and Phuket Customs officer Montira Cherdchoo and her team after Phuket Customs received a permit request from a tourist which asked for them to be authorised to take two Buddha images and a spirit house out of Thailand.
Ms Montira said, “The owner brought permit request asking for approval. We want officials to check if the artifacts are replicas, not genuine antiques, before allowing the owner to take them overseas.
“Thai law prohibits the export of religious antiques, particularly Buddha images, and the export of other antiques must receive approval from the Fine Arts Department after they have been examined at the provincial office,” Ms Montira explained.