Latest news with #ThammaWachiratheerakhun
Bangkok Post
2 days ago
- Bangkok Post
Cops to speed up probe on Nakhon Sawan temple abbot
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) has promised to expedite its probe into allegations of misconduct against the former abbot of a temple in Nakhon Sawan, after photos of the senior monk embracing a woman while wearing a wig made the rounds online. The former Phra Thamma Wachiratheerakun, who left the monkhood just before midnight on Saturday, is also under investigation in connection with financial irregularities in the Nakhon Sawan Buddhist Park project, which has been delayed for about a decade. Reports said the 67-year-old left monkhood at 11.49pm on Saturday, in a ceremony chaired by the deputy abbot of Wat Nakhon Sawan in Muang district. CIB investigators discovered a trove of chats and photographs which indicated the former abbot is in a romantic relationship with a 57-year-old woman seen in the pictures. It was said the pair has been in a relationship for 15 years. In one of the photos, the former monk could be seen embracing the woman while wearing a wig and layman clothes. The CIB says the former monk, who was Nakhon Sawan's ecclesiastical chief, regularly solicited donations from devotees in Nakhon Sawan and its surrounding province. Investigators also found his alleged companion has vast assets, including cars, valuable jewellery and land plots, despite having no clear sources of income. The temple had earlier denied any irregularities in the construction project and insisting it has financial records to dismiss such claims. The delay, it said in a statement, was due to dishonest contractors abandoning the work they had been paid to do. Despite the remarks, the CIB said the investigators will continue reviewing the temple's financial statements to see if there are any irregularities. The former Phra Thamma Wachiratheerakhun wrote in his resignation letter on Friday that he chose to resign due to health problems and prevent any further damage to the nation's Buddhist order. It is unclear if his woman companion will also face increased scrutiny. In light of recent scandals involving monks, the CIB recently opened a special centre to handle complaints about monks' misconduct. One such case is the sex scandal involving Wilawan Emsawat, a 35-year-old woman also known as "Sika Golf", and senior monks from several well-known temples. Meanwhile, the Pheu Thai Party spokesman Danuporn Punnakanta on Sunday said the party supports the push for a new law to address concerns over temples' finances and monks. He said a bill is being prepared to bring temples' financial matters under a transparent, auditable, accounting system, adding several other laws are being reviewed to support the reform effort. However, he added that as the matter is highly sensitive, the public will be invited to take part in the process.
Bangkok Post
3 days ago
- Bangkok Post
Ecclesiastical chief of Nakhon Sawan quits monkhood amid sex scandal
NAKHON SAWAN: The abbot of Wat Nakhon Sawan, who was also the ecclesiastical chief in this lower northern province, left the monkhood just before midnight on Saturday night. It was reported that Phra Thamma Wachiratheerakhun, 67, disrobed at Wat Nakhon Sawan in Muang district at 11.49pm on Saturday. A deputy abbot of the Buddhist temple chaired a ceremony for his departure from the monkhood. The development followed his resignation as the abbot and the provincial ecclesiastical chief on Friday. Phra Thamma Wachiratheerakhun wrote in his resignation letter dated Friday that he had health problems and was the subject of reports that had a seriously negative impact on Buddhist monks. The departure after 47 years as a monk came after Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, told reporters that he was investigating a scandal concerning a senior monk who was outside Bangkok. On July 15, Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat arrested Wilawan "Sika Golf" Emsawat, 35, who allegedly had sexual relations with many senior monks from well-known Buddhist temples. Police found numerous video clips of sexual affairs with the monks as well as evidence of extortion and blackmail against some of them. Police said that the woman had received 385 million baht in her bank accounts over the past three years. After the Sika Golf case, the Central Investigation Bureau opened a special centre to handle complaints about monks' misconduct. His Majesty the King has issued a royal command to revoke the royal appointments and ecclesiastical titles previously conferred upon a total of 81 monks, in light of recent reports of monastic misconduct.
