Global Courant 2023-05-13 07:40:00
Nine people, including seven Buddhist monks, have been arrested by Thai authorities for allegedly embezzling approximately 300 million baht (S$11.89 million) in donations to a temple in northeastern Thailand.
Thailand’s Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct said the leaders’ actions seriously undermined Buddhism.
The first arrests came last Friday when police arrested a monk, Kom Kongkaew, his sister and the abbot of Wat Pa Thammakhiri.
Kom and the abbot, Wutthima Thaomor, were suspected of stealing more than 180 million baht of the temple’s money. The temple is located in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
According to the police, Kom and the abbot took money from the temple’s account and gave it to Kom’s sister to deposit into her own account.
Police said the sister had 130 million baht in her account, while 51 million baht in cash was found in her home.
According to police, the abbot said Kom advised the monks to use some of the stolen money to buy jewelry.
After Kom was arrested, he allegedly told six others to hide the valuables.
But a police raid on the temple on Tuesday morning revealed assets worth 100 million baht, including cash and jewelry, some of which had been buried underground and in the private quarters of the monks.
Five monks and a driver were also arrested during the raid.
The Nation reported that Kom was popular for his “rhetorical style of preaching”, which attracted many devotees.
According to local villagers, the temple attracted many well-to-do devotees, who usually arrive in luxury cars.
All suspects are currently being held without bail as the court deemed them flight risks who could tamper with evidence.