Bangkok: the police in Thailand arrested a girl on Tuesday (15 July) who presumably attracted a collection of Buddhist monks in sexual relationships after which pushed them to make nice funds to cover their intimacy.
The potential violation of the celibacy rule for monks has shaken Buddhist establishments and has attracted public consideration to Thailand in latest weeks. At least 9 abbot and senior monks concerned within the scandal have been undressed and pushed out by Monkhyod, stated the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau.
Wilawan Emsawat, within the mid -Nineteen Thirties, was arrested in his residence within the non -Thaburi province, north of the capital Bangkok, on fees of extortion, cash laundering and reception of stolen items. The police stated that they tracked down the cash transferred by a senior monk by a checking account belonging to his temple within the north of Thailand.
Wilawan didn’t make an announcement from his arrest and it isn’t clear if he has a authorized illustration. Speaking with the native media earlier than his arrest, he acknowledged a relationship and stated he had given cash to that monk.
The scandals involving the monks emerge a 12 months a 12 months in Thailand, however often don’t contain senior members of the clergy. The case additionally places the highlight on the big sums of cash donated to the temples managed by the abbots, which is clearly contrasting with the abuse lives that ought to lead underneath the precepts of their faith.
Wilawan intentionally focused senior monks for monetary revenue, stated the police, noting that they’d found that a number of monks had transferred massive portions of cash after Wilawan had began romantic relations with them.
Wilawan financial institution accounts have obtained about 385 million Baht (11.9 million {dollars}) within the final three years, however a lot of the funds have been spent on on-line playing web sites, stated the police.
Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a central deputy commissioner of the investigations, stated the investigations started final month after an abbot of a well-known temple in Bangkok left the monk abruptly.
Investigators found that the abbot could be blackmailed by Wilawan for his or her romantic relationship. He informed the Monaco to be pregnant and requested him to pay 7.2 million Baht (US $ 222,000) in monetary help, stated Jaroonkiat throughout a press convention in Bangkok Tuesday.
The police believed that “this girl was harmful and we needed to arrest her as quickly as potential,” stated Jaroonkiat.
Thai Media reported {that a} seek for its cell telephones has revealed tens of hundreds of photographs and movies, in addition to quite a few chat registers that point out intimacy with completely different monks, lots of which may very well be used for blackmail.
The Thai monks are largely members of the Theravada sect, which requires that they’re celibate and chorus from touching even a girl.
The interim prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai has ordered the authorities to overview and take into account to strengthen the prevailing legal guidelines referring to monks and temples, specifically the transparency of the Finance of the Temple, to revive religion in Buddhism, the spokesman for the Jrayu Houngsub authorities stated Tuesday.
The Central Investigation Bureau has created a Facebook web page for individuals who report monks who behave badly, stated Jaroonkiat.
“We will examine the monks throughout the nation,” he stated. “I consider that the chain results of this investigation will result in many adjustments.”
