You have to hand it to local Cambodian media - they don't miss a trick. This week, a pair of giant pythons married, songs inciting adultery were banned and a boy who slapped a woman's bottom was given a suspended sentence in a story the prosecutor insisted "was not funny".
Secretary of State for the Ministry of Defense, Neang Phat, was delighted when his Kien Svay home, about 12 kilometers from the capital, was invaded by a pair of giant pythons on two consecutive days, Khmer-language Rasmei Kampuchea reported.
But when the serpentine couple, obviously deeply in love, refused his offers of food after their January arrival, he became disconcerted - until, that is, the spirits Ta Damrei Sol (Grandfather White Elephant) and Ye Mao (Black Grandmother) visited him in his dreams and advised him that they wanted to respect Cambodia's 2006 monogamy law and become legally wed.
His Excellency duly held a wedding, which the paper reported was "identical to a human wedding" (except, perhaps, for the banquet of live chickens) and the pair finally obliged to eat.
Since the male arrived on a January Friday, His Excellency named him Sok Chamroueun (Increasing Fortunes Friday). The female arrived on Saturday, so she was christened Sou Samnang (Lucky Saturday).
Rasmei reported that His Excellency - obviously a very patient man and a devout Buddhist - boasted that his home had previously been invaded by bees, which was also taken as a sign of good luck and prosperity.
"My home is often invaded by animals. They become gentle when the come here," the paper quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile a young man who slapped a girl on the bottom as they passed her on a motorbike in the capital's Daun Penh district realized he had picked on the wrong woman when he found himself in the can and his mate on the run, the same paper reported.
Both were sentenced to a year in jail for the offence. Van Theara, 22, was sentenced in absentia and Khun Peakdey, 18, was judged to have already served his time after five months in pre-trial detention and allowed a suspended sentence if he paid a $350 fine.
"This is not a funny story, because funny stories cannot go to the court," Phnom Penh Municipal Court prosecutor prosecutor Kry Soky told a giggling journalist. "If a boy loves a girl, he takes her by the hand, not the bottom."
And Rasmei's rival Koh Santepheap had perhaps the best story of the week, with a front page report that three songs had been banned for "inciting infidelity".
Indeed, If I Can't Be First Can I Be Second - the title of one song - is reminiscent of some of the racy DVD titles young men try to sell restaurant patrons from the bottom of their bags. The other songs were To Love Another's Husband and Can I Have a Piece of Your Heart Too?
The paper reported Phnom Penh governor Kep Chuktema as warning the city was on the lookout for other offending ditties - While the Cat is Away, the Mice will Play may soon be outlawed as a phrase.
An official who declined to be named scoffed at the suggestion he needed a racy song to be unfaithful. But rules are rules, he said - the songs have to go.