Thai monk spent RM36 million on gambling

Daily Express

17-05-2025

Published on: Saturday, May 17, 2025
Published on: Sat, May 17, 2025
By: AFP Text Size: BANGKOK: Thai police have arrested a Buddhist monk over allegations he embezzled more than $9 million (RM36m) from the prominent temple he ran which was funded by donations from devotees. Investigators from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) accuse Abbot Phra Thammachiranuwat from Wat Rai Khing of siphoning more than 300 million baht ($9.05 million) from the temple's bank account into his own.
Advertisement Investigators traced funds from the temple on Bangkok's western outskirts to an illegal online gambling network running baccarat card games, local media said. Temples in Buddhist-majority Thailand rely heavily on income from 'merit-making' ceremonies where worshippers make donations in hopes of gaining good fortune and better reincarnation. Police charged Phra Thammachiranuwat with corruption and malfeasance, CIB deputy commissioner Jaroonkiat Pankaew told reporters at a press conference on Thursday. 'This (arrest) is to help purify our religion,' Jaroonkiat said.
Advertisement Authorities have arrested a second suspect and are investigating whether others were involved, while local media reported the abbot has now left the monkhood. Wat Rai Khing, believed to have been founded in 1851, houses a replica of the Buddha's footprint. The arrest from one of the Bangkok suburb's most prominent temples has triggered significant backlash on social media. 'Next time I will donate to a hospital or school for good causes, not a temple,' one user posted on social media platform X. Others cautioned their fellow Buddhists to remain firm in their faith. 'Not all monks are bad. Don't generalise,' another X user wrote. Meanwhile, a Thai court issued arrest warrants on Thursday for 17 people over the collapse of a Bangkok skyscraper that fell in a major earthquake, killing dozens of workers. The 30-storey tower being built to house the State Audit Office was reduced to rubble in seconds when a 7.7-magnitude quake struck neighbouring Myanmar on March 28, killing thousands in Thailand's wartorn neighbour. The tower was the only building in Bangkok to collapse, and the speed and suddenness with which it fell has raised questions about the quality of the construction. 'A Thai court today issued arrest warrants against three groups, comprising 17 people, related to the collapse,' Police Lieutenant-General Siam Boonsom told AFP. He did not give details of those targeted by the warrants, but Thai media reports said they include staff from Italian-Thai Development (ITD), one of the firms building the tower. Authorities say they have recovered 89 bodies from the rubble of the collapsed tower, with seven people still unaccounted for. The project was a joint venture between ITD – one of Thailand's biggest construction firms – and a Chinese conglomerate. Initial tests by Thai safety officials last month on steel rebars – struts used to reinforce concrete – recovered from the site found that some of the metal used was substandard. * Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss. * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.
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