'Granny' might eat the children
Phnom Penh, Cambodia 20 October 2004 12:11
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A 2m-long python welcomed into a Phnom Penh home because the family
believes it is a reincarnation of their dead grandmother should be treated
with extreme caution and cannot be trusted, police said on Wednesday.
Sreah Chak Commune police chief Touch Sarin said by telephone on
Wednesday that the snake, which apparently lives in the family's backyard
pond, entered the home of Sok Panha earlier this week and was immediately
identified by two of the woman's daughters as the reincarnation of
their recently deceased grandmother.
However, he said police have warned the family that the snake is not to
be trusted and may not be satisfied with the offerings of bananas and
vegetables given by the grateful family.
"I am worried about them. If they are careless, they can lose their
children. The python might eat them," Touch Sarin said.
"I do not believe it is a reincarnation. In fact, I would not normally
be interested in the case at all because I am busy with thieves and
other criminals. But I will have to become involved if the snake kills
someone, and I believe it could," he said.
He said people came from across the area to see the python, which
became alarmed at all the attention and slithered back into the family pond.
However, it is still somewhere in the back garden, and attempts to lure
it back into the home with treats and offerings are unwise, he added.
Buddhism is Cambodia's state religion, and many locals believe that
after the death of a relative or close friend, people may reappear in a
reincarnated form. -- Sapa-DPA
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