Solving the armor room puzzle (Resident Evil)

There is a glass cabinet at the back of the mansion's Armor Room that, when examined, seems to contain an item. However the cabinet is locked with no visible way of opening it. In the centre of the room on the floor are two air vents and a switch, and also two statues that can be pushed and moved around by your character.

If you push the switch without changing anything in the room, a deadly poisonous gas will fill the room from the two air vents in the floor. If you do happen to trigger the gas, you should leave the room before your character dies. Leaving and re-entering the room is also the only way to reset the puzzle to make it safe again, and this will also reset the position of the statues if you move them.