Police in Thailand arrested a girl Tuesday who allegedly enticed a string of Buddhist monks into sexual relationships after which pressured them into making massive funds to cowl up their intimacy.
The attainable violation of the celibacy rule for monks has rocked Buddhist establishments and gripped public consideration in Thailand in latest weeks. A minimum of 9 abbots and senior monks concerned within the scandal have been disrobed and forged out of the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau stated.
Wilawan Emsawat, in her mid-30s, was arrested at her residence in Nonthaburi province north of the capital Bangkok on prices together with extortion, cash laundering and receiving stolen items. Police stated they traced cash transferred to her by a senior monk from a checking account belonging to his temple in northern Thailand.
Wilawan has not made an announcement since her arrest and it was unclear if she has authorized illustration. Chatting with native media earlier than her arrest, she acknowledged one relationship and stated she had given cash to that monk.
Central Investigation Bureau through AP
Scandals involving monks floor just a few occasions a yr in Thailand however often do not contain senior members of the clergy. The case additionally places a highlight on the big sums of cash donated to temples managed by abbots, which is in marked distinction to the abstemious lives they’re supposed to guide beneath their faith’s precepts.
Wilawan intentionally focused senior monks for monetary achieve, police stated, noting they discovered a number of monks had transferred massive quantities of cash after Wilawan initiated romantic relationships with them.
Wilawan’s financial institution accounts obtained round 385 million baht ($11.9 million) prior to now three years, however a lot of the funds had been spent on on-line playing web sites, police stated. The largest bets had been 500,000 baht every, the Bangkok Submit reported, citing police.
Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner, stated the investigation started final month after an abbot of a well-known temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood.
Investigators discovered the abbot had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan over their romantic relationship. She informed the monk that she was pregnant and requested him to pay $222,000 in monetary help, Jaroonkiat stated at a information convention in Bangkok Tuesday.
Police believed “this lady is harmful and we would have liked to arrest her as quickly as attainable,” Jaroonkiat stated.
Thai media reported a search of her cell phones revealed tens of 1000’s of photographs and movies, in addition to quite a few chat logs indicating intimacy with a number of monks, lots of which could possibly be used for blackmail.
Thai monks are largely members of the Theravada sect, which requires them to be celibate and chorus from even touching a girl.
Appearing Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to evaluation and take into account tightening present legal guidelines associated to monks and temples, particularly the transparency of temple funds, to revive religion in Buddhism, authorities spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub stated Tuesday.
The Central Investigation Bureau has arrange a Fb web page for individuals to report monks who misbehave, Jaroonkiat stated.
“We are going to examine monks throughout the nation,” he stated. “I consider that the ripple results of this investigation will result in loads of modifications.”
Buddhist monks in Thailand have been embroiled in scandals earlier than.
In Might, Thai police arrested a monk over allegations he embezzled greater than $9 million from the outstanding temple he ran which was funded by donations from devotees.
Final November, Thai police launched an investigation of a Buddhist monastery after authorities found 41 our bodies on web site which had been allegedly used for meditation practices.
In 2022, each single monk at a Buddhist temple in central Thailand was defrocked after they examined optimistic for methamphetamine. The monks had been despatched to a well being clinic to endure drug rehabilitation.
Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.
