Latest news with #Buddhism
Bangkok Post
34 minutes ago
- Bangkok Post
Charges mount against woman at centre of temple sex scandal
Police charges are mounting against the 35-year-old woman known as 'Sika Golf' who allegedly had sex with many senior monks at well-known temples in many provinces and also blackmailed them. Pol Col Anek Taosuparp, deputy commander of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), said Wilawan 'Sika Golf' Emsawat was charged additionally with fraud in connection with an old complaint from a former director of Buddhism in the northern province of Phichit. 'Sika' is a Thai word that monks use to address a woman. According to the deputy commander, the former Buddhism official lent 400,000 baht to Ms Golf, who claimed she needed money for medical treatment and pointed out that she had evidence a relationship with a senior monk in Phichit. The former director filed his complaint in 2016 and the investigation was first revived in 2018, when there was clear evidence of money transactions. The CSD is also prosecuting Ms Wilawan for alleged extortion of money from a former assistant abbot at popular Wat Sothonwararam in Chachoengsao province. Pol Col Anek said the woman's methodology was to develop a close relationship with a monk before shifting to money issues. In this case, police had proof the former assistant abbot transferred 8,000 baht to her associate. Pol Col Anek said the CSD was handling fraud and embezzlement cases concerning 'Sika Golf' and other people, and the police Anti-Corruption Division was proceeding with cases concerning monks' misconduct and embezzlement. Ms Wilawan was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province on Tuesday and has alredy been charged with supporting a monk's embezzlement of temple funds, laundering money and receiving stolen goods. She is being detained at the Central Investigation Bureau in Bangkok. According to police sources, Ms Wilawan, aka Sika Golf, is a native of Phichit province. She was the wife of a local politician who left her after learning she phoned lovers at night and received banknotes, coins and daily necessities donated to monks and regifted to her. She reportedly had many pictures of monks on the walls of their home. The scandal around her activities erupted late last month when the abbot of Wat Tri Thotsathep in Bangkok disappeared. Police suspect she had tried to blackmail him. Police searched her house and found a number of mobile phones storing about 80,000 sex photos and videos involving many senior monks at many famous temples. About 15 monks are suspected of having a special relationship with the woman and nine were known to have already left the monkhood as of Wednesday, when an ecclesiastical chief of monks in the northern province of Phisanulok doffed his robes and reverted to being a lay citizen. Meanwhile, an assistant abbot of Wat Prayurawongsawat Worawihan in Bangkok has denied he had sexual relations with her, although police have copies of their intimate conversations and his photo on a chat app. Police said on Tuesday that about 385 million baht was paid into Ms Wilawan's bank accounts over the past three years and she lost most of it gambling online.
NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
Police in Thailand arrest woman who allegedly seduced and blackmailed Buddhist monks
Police in Thailand arrested a woman Tuesday who allegedly enticed a string of Buddhist monks into sexual relationships and then pressured them into making large payments to cover up their intimacy. The possible violation of the celibacy rule for monks has rocked Buddhist institutions and gripped public attention in Thailand in recent weeks. At least nine abbots and senior monks involved in the scandal have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said. Wilawan Emsawat, in her mid-30s, was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province north of the capital Bangkok on charges including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods. Police said they traced money transferred to her by a senior monk from a bank account belonging to his temple in northern Thailand. Wilawan has not made a statement since her arrest and it was unclear if she has legal representation. Speaking to local media before her arrest, she acknowledged one relationship and said she had given money to that monk. Scandals involving monks surface a few times a year in Thailand but usually don't involve senior members of the clergy. The case also puts a spotlight on the large sums of money donated to temples controlled by abbots, which is in marked contrast to the abstemious lives they are supposed to lead under their religion's precepts. Wilawan deliberately targeted senior monks for financial gain, police said, noting they found several monks had transferred large amounts of money after Wilawan initiated romantic relationships with them. Wilawan's bank accounts received around 385 million baht ($11.9 million) in the past three years, but most of the funds were spent on online gambling websites, police said. Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner, said the investigation began last month after an abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood. Investigators found the abbot had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan over their romantic relationship. She told the monk that she was pregnant and asked him to pay 7.2 million baht ($222,000) in financial assistance, Jaroonkiat said at a news conference in Bangkok Tuesday. Police believed 'this woman is dangerous and we needed to arrest her as soon as possible,' Jaroonkiat said. Thai media reported a search of her mobile phones revealed tens of thousands of photos and videos, as well as numerous chat logs indicating intimacy with several monks, many of which could be used for blackmail. Thai monks are largely members of the Theravada sect, which requires them to be celibate and refrain from even touching a woman. Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples, especially the transparency of temple finances, to restore faith in Buddhism, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said Tuesday. The Central Investigation Bureau has set up a Facebook page for people to report monks who misbehave, Jaroonkiat said. 'We will investigate monks across the country,' he said. 'I believe that the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes.'
Bangkok Post
2 hours ago
- Bangkok Post
Police to make background checks on all monks nationwide
Police will check the backgrounds of about 300,000 Buddhist monks nationwide in the wake of the scandal involving several senior monks and a woman known as 'Sika Golf', who was arrested on Tuesday. Police have asked the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) for the ID card numbers of all Buddhist monks in Thailand so they could make background checks for miscreants and felons, Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Parnkaew, deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, (CIB) said on Wednesday. There were about 300,000 monks in the country, he said. Police would also revive all the old cases against monks that the NOB previously dismissed, he said. The deputy commissioner said cooperation with the NOB had not been smooth in the past. The NOB did not seem serious about solving the problems. Ongoing action would not be lenient, he stressed. "I don't want these problems to remain a cancer in the side of Buddhism," he said. Police were determined to investigate monkly misbehaviour in the interests of protecting Buddhism, but disciplinary authority rested with the NOB, the deputy CIB chief said. The current uptick in action against misbehaving monks started after the Royal Thai Police Office recently opened a centre dedicated to tackling the issue, Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat said. The centre was overwhelmed with misconduct complaints, including senior monks having sexual relations with women other than "Sika Golf". Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat was referring to Wilawan 'Golf' Emsawat, 35, who was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province on Tuesday for supporting a senior monk's embezzlement of temple funds, laundering money and receiving stolen goods. She is suspected of having sexual relations with about 10 monks, some of them elderly and revered, and receiving and extorting huge sums of money from them. Police said they have considerable evidence, including videos of Ms Golf involved in sexual activities with monks found stored in her mobile phones. Police said they intend to lay more charges against her. Sika is a traditional Thai term used to refer to a woman who is associated with a monk.
Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Woman who 'seduced and blackmailed Buddhist monks' caught by Thai police
The woman, aged in her 30s, is accused by police in Thailand of enticing celibate Buddhist monks into sexual relationships before demanding hush money from them A woman who allegedly 'seduced and blackmailed' a string of Buddhist monks has been arrested by police in Thailand. The Southeast Asian nation has been rocked in recent weeks by an emerging sex scandal involving a number of senior monks, with the behaviour falling foul of a strict celibacy rule in place for ordained members of the faith. At least nine abbots and senior monks involved have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said. On Tuesday, Wilawan Emsawat, in her mid-30s, was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province north of Bangkok. She is accused of enticing Buddhist monks into sexual relationships, before pressuring them into making large payments to cover up their intimacy. Charges against her include extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods. Police said they traced money transferred to her by a senior monk from a bank account belonging to his temple in northern Thailand. Wilawan has not made a statement since her arrest, and it is unclear if she has legal representation. Speaking to local media before her arrest, she acknowledged a relationship with one monk and said she had given him money. Police said Wilawan deliberately targeted senior monks for financial gain, and said they found several monks had transferred large amounts of money after she initiated romantic relationships with them. Her bank accounts received around 385 million baht (£8.8 million) in the past three years, but most of the funds were spent on online gambling websites, police said. Jaroonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau, said the investigation began last month after an abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood. The intelligence service - equivalent to the the UK's National Crime Agency or US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - has since set up a Facebook page for people to report misbehaving monks Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has meanwhile ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples to restore faith in Buddhism, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said yesterday. He added: "We will investigate monks across the country. I believe that the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes."
NDTV
16 hours ago
- NDTV
Thai Woman Allegedly Seduced, Blackmailed Buddhist Monks, Arrested
Bangkok: Police in Thailand arrested a woman Tuesday who allegedly enticed a string of Buddhist monks into sexual relationships and then pressured them into making large payments to cover up their intimacy. The possible violation of the celibacy rule for monks has rocked Buddhist institutions and gripped public attention in Thailand in recent weeks. At least nine abbots and senior monks involved in the scandal have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said. Wilawan Emsawat, in her mid-30s, was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province north of the capital Bangkok on charges including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods. Police said they traced money transferred to her by a senior monk from a bank account belonging to his temple in northern Thailand. Wilawan has not made a statement since her arrest and it was unclear if she has legal representation. Speaking to local media before her arrest, she acknowledged one relationship and said she had given money to that monk. The case also puts a spotlight on the large sums of money donated to temples controlled by abbots, which is in marked contrast to the abstemious lives they are supposed to lead under their religion's precepts. Wilawan deliberately targeted senior monks for financial gain, police said, noting they found several monks had transferred large amounts of money after Wilawan initiated romantic relationships with them. Wilawan's bank accounts received around 385 million baht ($11.9 million) in the past three years, but most of the funds were spent on online gambling websites, police said. Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner, said the investigation began last month after an abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood. Investigators found the abbot had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan over their romantic relationship. She told the monk that she was pregnant and asked him to pay 7.2 million baht ($222,000) in financial assistance, Jaroonkiat said at a news conference in Bangkok Tuesday. Police believed "this woman is dangerous and we needed to arrest her as soon as possible," Jaroonkiat said. Thai media reported a search of her mobile phones revealed tens of thousands of photos and videos, as well as numerous chat logs indicating intimacy with several monks, many of which could be used for blackmail. Thai monks are largely members of the Theravada sect, which requires them to be celibate and refrain from even touching a woman. Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples, especially the transparency of temple finances, to restore faith in Buddhism, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said Tuesday. The Central Investigation Bureau has set up a Facebook page for people to report , Jaroonkiat said. "We will investigate monks across the country," he said. "I believe that the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes." (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
