Monk absconder turns self in, defrocked
One of the two senior monks on the run yesterday turned himself in to face charges in connection with embezzlement of state temple development funds while police were stepping up their search for the last suspect.
Former Phra Phrom Sitthi, or Thongchai Sukkho, was escorted to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) for questioning by Pol Lt Gen Thitirat Nonghanpitak, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, not long after reports emerged the monk had made contact and wanted to surrender.
He was defrocked yesterday evening and sent to Bangkok Remand Prison after the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases in Bangkok’s Dusit district granted a police request for an initial 12-day period of detention and rejected the bail application. He and another senior monk, former Phra Phrom Methi, the assistant abbot of Wat Samphanthawong, went into hiding last Thursday when commandos raided three Buddhist temples in Bangkok and arrested five other monks for alleged involvement in embezzlement. His surrender came as the Royal Gazette published a royal command in which His Majesty the King revoked the monastic ranks of all the seven monks implicated in the scandal, including that of the former Phra Phrom Sitthi.
The former Phra Phrom Sitthi was also expelled from the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) along with two others and removed as chairman of the Regulatory Office for Overseas Dhammaduta Bhikkhus. His lawyers are expected to apply for bail again today. A police source said yesterday the search was intensifying for the remaining suspect, former Phra Phrom Methee.
Earlier, the CSD alerted immigration offices across the country to keep an eye out for two Thais and one Lao national who were believed to have helped the monk flee. The seven monks are among a number of suspects, including officials, involved in the alleged siphoning of tens of millions of baht from temple development and Buddhism study funds allocated by the National Office of Buddhism.
PM’s Office Minister Suwaphan Tanyuvardhana said the spending of funds allocated to temples would be subject to greater oversight.