Ex-monk held in Germany in airport arrest
Fugitive former Phra Phrom Methee has been detained in Frankfurt by German authorities while the national police chief has travelled to the European country to escort him back to face charges in connection with the temple fund embezzlement scandal.
The former assistant abbot of Wat Samphanthawong, whose layman name is Chamnong Iamintra, was detained in Germany after more than a week on the run following a crackdown on temple fund embezzlement.
After being alerted of the monk’s arrest by German immigration officials, Pol Lt Gen Sutthipong Wongpin, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, reported the matter to the national police chief. Interpol has been notified that the fugitive monk is wanted.
However, details of the arrest have yet to be disclosed.
National police chief Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda was accompanied by Pol Lt Gen Sutthipong, Pol Col Jirapop Phuridech, deputy commander of Crime Suppression Division (CSD), and a team of public prosecutors. They were scheduled to arrive in Germany last night (Thailand time).
Thailand and Germany have not signed an extradition agreement but the two countries have a treaty on mutual assistance in criminal matters, a legal mechanism that facilitated the arrest of the senior monk and Thai attempts to take him back.
Thai authorities and the fugitive monk are expected to arrive in Thailand on Wednesday morning or sooner if the legal process is finished early.
According to a police source, the former assistant abbot was in Phitsanulok when authorities raided Wat Samphanthawong, Wat Sa Ket and Wat Sam Phraya on May 24 to detain senior monks accused of fund embezzlement. As soon as he heard the news, he fled in a bronze Toyota Alphard to Nakhon Phanom and the vehicle was left near a temple in Renu Nakhon district. He then crossed the border to Laos and was spotted at a hotel in Thakhek town in Khammouane province.
He was seen on a hotel security camera leaving the hotel with a man on May 26 with a piece of luggage. The person was later identified as his relative. The pair took a bus to Cambodia’s Phanom Penh where they boarded a flight to Germany via Vietnam and Qatar.
Meanwhile, the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) is expected to consider appointing new abbots of Wat Sa Ket and Wat Sam Phraya and the head of the Regulatory Office for Overseas Dhammaduta Bhikkhus on June 10. The appointment of the Wat Sa Ket abbot will be closely watched as the temple has been embroiled in scandals in recent years.
The former abbot, Thongchai Sukkho, was defrocked in the latest temple embezzlement scandal after turning himself in to face charges.