Singapore couple donates 400-year-old Buddha statue to Bhutan

On May 9, a 400-year-old Buddha statue made its journey home on a 9am flight from Singapore to the Kingdom of Bhutan.

- Therese Soh

Dr Tommy Ong and his wife, Heidi, had decided to donate the polychrome clay statue in their private collection to its country of origin in the name of their late son, Zi Yun, who died in April 2023 when he was a month old.

Dr Ong, the chief executive of a dietary supplements company, presented the statue to Bhutan Ambassador to Singapore Kinzang Dorji during a ceremony at the Singapore Buddhist Federation (SBF) in Geylang on May 8.

A thermoluminescence test to determine the age of artefacts had dated the statue-standing 34cm tall and 27cm wide - to the 1620s. According to Dr Ong, an antique dealer had valued it at between US$2 million (S$2.7 million) and US$3 million.

Dr Ong, 44, said an intact clay statue of that age is "extremely rare", as clay is very soft, difficult to work with and even harder to preserve over time.

As the statue is a sacred symbol of Buddhism in Bhutan, this gift holds immense significance for the kingdom, said SBF's president, Venerable Seck Kwang Phing, who presided over the ceremony.