With the statue in front of Ho Chi Minh City’s hallmark Ben Thanh market recently having one of its legs broken off, the alarm for deteriorating monuments which face collapse at any time has been raised.

When a group of sightseers were taking photos in front of the said Tran Nguyen Han statue, located above the roundabout in front of Ben Thanh market late last month, the right leg of the statue, which pays tribute to general Tran Nguyen Han in the 15th century, without warning, broke and fell onto the ground, creating a mess of scattered cement and strings of iron.  

The breakage, however, came as no surprise to local sculptors.

According to sculptor Bui Hai Son, head of the HCMC Fine Arts Association’s sculpture division, along with several others in the area, the monument was erected prior to 1975.

While outdoor monuments are supposed to be built from highly durable materials such as bronze, steel and granite, the ones erected before 1975 were hastily constructed from cement and limestone. Also, the builders were laymen in both sculpture and construction.

“In expert opinions, such monuments don’t meet artistic or quality requirements,” Son stressed.

Sculptor Lam Quang Noi pointed out that though the Tran Nguyen Han monument has been restored twice, its conditions keep deteriorating as it wasn’t designed and constructed properly in the first place. He urged that the monument be removed and replaced with a new one.

Meanwhile, Son stressed that like other old concrete memorials, the Tran Nguyen Han monument is nearing the end of its lifespan of some 50 years only and may crumple at any time.

He urged that these memorials be relocated to other places for preservation while replacements be built. The idea has been put forward several times earlier but is yet to be put into reality.

Le Ton Thanh, deputy head of the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said his department will look closely into the monument’s conditions and decide whether to remove or restore and keep it in the same place.