The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority said earlier this week that the statue of Kru Kai Kaeo that has been causing a hullabaloo all month long will need to be obscured from public view.
The statue began making waves on August 9 when images of the large statue—with yellow fangs, wings, and red nails—couldn’t make it under a city overpass. Then came the reports that the deity, said to be a teacher of a former king of the Khmer empire, was made up. Then rumors had it that worshipers sacrifice cats and dogs to it.
While the provenance of the deity is still debated, local groups, including the Council of Artists Supporting Buddhism of Thailand, have said the statue needs to be removed, equating it to devil worship.
Statues under 10 meters, such as the four-meter Kru Kai Kaeo statue, do not require approval from the BMA, but the people-pleasing governor of Bangkok Chadchart Sittipunt has reached a compromise where worshippers will still be able to see the statue, but commuters won’t be affected.
The Bazar Hotel, which hosts the statue, has been asked to erect a screen to prevent the statue from frightening or disturbing those who can see it from Ratchadaphisek Road. Plans for the screen will need to be submitted to authorities.
“We have to weigh the needs of two groups of people: those who are displeased at seeing the sculpture and the worshippers who don’t want it to be removed,” Chadchart said.
This story originally appeared in BK Magazine.
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