The Ministry of Cults and Religion yesterday appealed to the public for help identifying and locating a monk who recorded a romantic song for his lover and uploaded it to Facebook, saying he would be either fined or defrocked for the infraction when caught.

The nearly three-minute-long video depicts the robed monk singing Pheakdey Sne Penh Besdoung, or “Heart Full of Love”, an ode about a man’s longing for a woman, and in doing so broke decorum expected of monks, said ministry spokesman Seng Sonomy.

“The ministry . . . is busy now searching for the identity of the monk who sang the song and posted on Facebook to his lover. It very much impacts upon the monk’s rules,” Somony said.

“He posted in public on Facebook, and everyone . . . criticised the whole Buddhist sector,” the spokesman explained. “The monk committee will discuss whether to fine him, or defrock him.”

As of last night, the video had been shared on Facebook more than 9,000 times, with almost all of the 900 comments criticising the besotten monk for bringing shame to the Buddhist religion.

“This is so embarrassing. He does not deserve to be a monk. He looks crazy,” said Sem Pheak, one of the commenters. “It is an offence to monks.”

Earlier this year, Kampong Speu provincial head monk Du Vandeoun resigned under public pressure when video footage surfaced depicting him singing and performing at a Khmer New Year celebration.