Saturday, 31 May 2008

'Gangster' monkey shot dead at Cambodian temple

A monkey eats a fruit at the Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP/Getty Images

Agence France Presse

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia - A violent 20-kilogramme monkey at a temple in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh was shot dead after it attacked visitors, an official said Friday.

The rowdy male macaque was killed on Thursday, because "it had bitten many people and many people said the monkey was a gangster," said Chhim Dina, the deputy of Phnom Penh's Daun Penh district.

Just last week the macaque bit a 60-year-old woman on her head, hands and legs, he said.

"We decided to kill the monkey because it disturbed tourists visiting Wat Phnom Pagoda," he said, adding that authorities are working to capture more dangerous monkeys in the area.

Wat Phnom is crowded with some 200 semi-tame macaques who occasionally cause havoc to nearby homes and hotels, tearing apart tile roofs, destroying laundry and stealing loose items.

Authorities in the past tried to trap unruly monkeys by getting them to eat eggs laced with sleeping pills, but were unsuccessful.

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