No bail for ex-monk who surrendered
A former assistant abbot at the embezzlement-hit Wat Sa Ket who is accused of playing a collaborative role in siphoning money from the temple has been denied bail after he surrendered to the police.
Sangkhom Sangkhaphat, who was later in life known as Phra Ratcha Upa-senapon or Phra Methi Suthikorn, turned up at the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) with his lawyers yesterday morning.
Mr Sangkhom was questioned for over five hours before being taken to the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases, where the police sought his detention. His lawyers reportedly submitted a surety of 500,000 baht for his bail application.
The court then ruled against that, concerned he may attempt to tamper with evidence. It also cited the offence he is suspected of carries a severe punishment. Moreover, the financial loss from the embezzlement was substantial, it added.
Mr Sangkhom was later defrocked and jailed.
He is one of seven monks who had their monastic ranks revoked by His Majesty the King in the wake of the scandal under a royal command published in the Royal Gazette on Wednesday.
A police source said he denied all the charges levelled against him during the interrogation.
Wat Sa Ket was one of three embezzlement-hit temples raided by police last Thursday. Three assistant abbots were arrested whereas former abbot Phra Phrom Sitthi turned himself in to the CSD on Wednesday.
According to the source, Mr Sangkhom allegedly colluded with some officials from the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) to siphon off the state funds allocated for the temple.
He wrote earlier to the NOB seeking 10 million baht for an educational project linked to Buddhist studies, the source said. After the money was transferred, he and another former assistant abbot, known at the time as Phra Wichit Thammapon, who was apprehended earlier, each played roles in claiming it for themselves, the source noted.
The two former monks issued cheques from the temple and let a temple employee cash them, the source said. The employee, identified as Thawit Sangyu, has also been arrested.
Between 1.8 million and 1.9 million baht were cashed each time until the fund was bled dry, according to the source, who added that an investigation will be carried out to determine where the money went.
Meanwhile, another source at the Counter Corruption Division (CCD) reported that over 340 million baht of state funds has been lost as a result of the scandal, saying this has come to lights after three rounds of investigation into temples nationwide.
The CCD began its probe last year aimed at malfeasance linked to the allocation of grant-in-aid for temples provided by the NOB.
Grants for maintaining and developing temples, and for promoting Buddhist education have since come under scrutiny.