Police in Thailand’s southern province of Songkhla have been trying to locate the sword belonging to the statue of Prince Lop Buri Ramet (Krom Luang Lop Buri Ramet) on Khao Noi Hill, which has gone missing and is believed to have been stolen.

Officials who look after the statue and Tamnak Khao Noi, the residence of the late prince built in 1911, discovered the sword was missing yesterday (Wednesday) and alerted the police.

Police say that the sword was probably stolen at night, when there is no one on duty, adding that it might have been sold to an antiques collector.

Local officials say that this is not the first time that the sword has been stolen. On June 10^th, 2008 it was stolen and a replica, the one that went missing last night, was made to replace the original.

According to the Songkhla Facebook page, Prince Lop Buri Ramet was a son of King Rama V and was appointed to serve as governor of the Nakhon Si Thammarat region, with Songkhla as the centre, from 1910 to 1926. He also served as the viceroy of King Rama V, overseeing the southern provinces.

The Prince was famed for his skilful handling of relations with the British Empire, which was believed to have been seeking to annex Thailand’s southern territory into British Malaya.