Mentally ill man destroys shrine in Bangkok

Bangkok, Mar 21 (UNI) The famous Brahma shrine in central Bangkok was destroyed early this morning by a deranged Thai man who was later lynched to death by bystanders.

Thanakorn Pakdeepol, 27, attacked the 50-year-old Brahma image in Erawan Shrine worshipped by people of several faiths with a hammer at around 1 am local time.

The man was chased and attacked by some trash collectors after a roadside vendor raised an alarm.

The man's father said his son was troubled by a mental illness for several years and was nervous and depressed yesterday and had run out of the house at midnight.

Tourists from several Asian countries used to worship the four-faced Brahma statue in the shrine. It was a key tourist attraction of Bangkok.

Expressing shock at the incident caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said he would instruct the Ministry of Culture to restore the statue worshipped by millions of Thais.

Bangkok residents have traditionally gone to the shrine to pray for realising their innermost wishes.

''My prayers were answered. I prayed for a job at the shrine and got it soon after,'' a resident working with an international organisation told UNI.

UNI XC SK VC1058