20-07-2025
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.
