On September 21, in an exchange with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Duong Dinh Luc (resident of Van Tuong commune, Quang Ngai province) said that he had not yet received nearly 93 million VND in prize money for handing over an antique, the Hanuman monkey god statue, to the Quang Ngai Provincial General Museum.
I heard in the press that I received nearly 93 million VND in prize money, but until now, I have not received a single penny. The cost to bring the monkey statue home is also quite expensive, so I really hope to receive the prize money to cover daily living expenses," Mr. Luc shared.
Previously, on September 16, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed a decision on rewarding Mr. Duong Dinh Luc for discovering and handing over an antique, the statue of the monkey god Hanuman, to the Quang Ngai Provincial Museum. The reward level is 92,872,150 VND. Reward term: 2026.
Agencies and units responsible for bonus disbursement: Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ngai province. Bonus disbursement source: Extracted from the 2026 cultural career funding source of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ngai province.
On the afternoon of September 21, exchanging with Lao Dong Newspaper reporters about when the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ngai province will pay the reward to Mr. Luc, Mr. Phan Van Hoang - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Ngai province - said that the Department had just received the decision on paying the reward to Mr. Luc a few days ago. The Department is assigning the professional department to advise on the source of reward for Mr. Luc, and is expected to award a certificate of merit to Mr. Luc.
As Lao Dong Newspaper reported, in March 2021, when going to the sea to fish, Mr. Duong Dinh Luc discovered a stone monkey statue submerged under the sand. The location where the stone statue was discovered was about 50m from the shore, at a depth of 4m. The monkey statue was very heavy, Mr. Luc had to mobilize relatives to hire a crane to salvage it and bring it home.
Seeing the strange statue, many curious people flocked to see it. This information reached the antique dealers. After a while, many people came to ask to buy the statue. Someone offered 2 billion VND but I did not sell because I found this statue to have a spiritual element," Mr. Luc said.
Later, local authorities learned that Mr. Luc had salvaged an antique, so they mobilized him to hand it over to the State. According to the Quang Ngai Provincial General Museum, the statue Mr. Luc salvaged is the statue of the ape god Hanuman, dating from the 11th-12th centuries. The statue is made of sandstone. The statue body and pedestal are 84cm high and weigh 150kg.
On August 20, 2025, the People's Committee of Quang Ngai province decided to approve a plan to handle assets that have been established for the entire people's ownership for artifacts found by random individuals.
This decision of Quang Ngai Provincial People's Committee is the official legal basis. On this basis, relevant units will implement the next steps to request competent authorities to reward people who have handed over antiques.
