Phan Van Hoang, deputy director of the Quang Ngai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said on September 21 that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism had approved a reward of nearly VND 93 million (USD 3,500) for Duong Dinh Luc, a resident of Van Tuong Commune.
The department has been assigned to make the payment and will also propose that the provincial People's Committee award Luc a certificate of merit for handing the artefact over to the museum for research.
According to Van Tuong Commune authorities, the statue is of considerable historical and cultural value. Luc reportedly turned down offers to buy it after it was recovered and later handed it over to the Quang Ngai Provincial General Museum for research and display.
Local authorities said his action complied with regulations governing the discovery and handover of antiquities and deserved recognition.
Luc discovered the Hanuman statue in 2021 while fishing at sea. It was found about 50 metres offshore at a depth of four metres. He hired a crane to recover the statue and initially took it home before local authorities persuaded him to hand it over to the state.
The Quang Ngai Provincial General Museum said the sandstone statue dates from the 11th to 12th centuries. Including its base, it stands 84 centimetres tall and weighs 150 kilogrammes.
The museum described the Hanuman statue as a distinctive sculpture of historical and cultural significance that should be preserved, studied and displayed to the public.
Under Government Decree 77, rewards for people who find and surrender eligible assets to the state are calculated on a progressive scale based on the value of the property.
