Finnish Tourist Faces Prison

I was browsing the news this morning and I came across a story about a Finnish tourist who faces jail in Easter Island for defacing one of the historic statues there. The story is below (reproduced from Sky News) and I have to say, I fully agree with the authorities about this. Tourists must not damage or deface these things and if jail is the punishment that is required to get this message over, then so be it.

A Finnish tourist faces jail after he broke off part of the ear of an ancient Easter Island statue to take home as a souvenir. Marko Kulju, 25, had only been on the UNESCO world heritage island a day before defacing the 'Moai' statue. He is now in police custody waiting to hear his fate after he was caught red-handed by an angry resident.

"He says he planned to take it away as a souvenir," a police official said.

"He could face prison ... but it is more likely he will face a fine big enough to fix the damage."

The famous monoliths have fascinated visitors to the remote area ever since the first Europeans landed there on Easter Sunday, 1722. Hundreds of sculptures of huge heads and torsos pepper the island, which has an area of just 63 square miles.
They were carved by Polynesian colonisers out of the island's volcanic rock from as early as the 10th century, according to UNESCO. The largest standing statue is nearly 33ft tall and weighs 75 tonnes.

Finnish Tourist Faces Prison