Hong Kong professor held in Myanmar over Buddha leg tattoo plans to ink over image
Canadian lecturer and girlfriend almost deported over 'offensive' markings on his leg
A Hong Kong university professor plans to return to Myanmar despite almost being deported this month after he was accused of inciting religious hatred with tattoos of Buddha on his leg.
Canadian national Jason Polley, who teaches English literature at Baptist University, said he and his Hongkonger girlfriend Margaret Lam narrowly escaped deportation after a social media storm erupted when a picture of his tattoos went viral online.
Buddhists believe the feet are dirty and this can extend to the lower limbs, so images of Buddha on these areas may be regarded as highly offensive.
Polley, 39, who is Mahayana Buddhist, and Lam, 23, continued their travels, but five days later, more than a dozen government officials turned up at their hotel in Inle Lake, central Myanmar. The area is near the restive Mandalay city, where tensions between Muslims and Buddhists have flared in recent months.
"The official narrative proffered from the Facebook story was about me somehow being in league with Muslim radicals to deface Buddhism," Polley said yesterday from his hotel room in Luang Prabang, Laos.
Officials interrogated him for an hour and seized his and his girlfriend's passports.