Chumphon abbot rejects graft claims

Grant-in-aid scandal nets Wat Rat Burana

The abbot of a Chumphon-based temple yesterday defended the transparency of the maintenance and construction funds he handles after the temple was named as one of 12 temples allegedly involved in corruption in a grant-in-aid scheme.

Phra Rajavijitpatipan, abbot of Wat Rat Burana in Lang Suan district, said the temple made payments to the contractors as soon as it received subsidies from the National Office of Buddhism (NOB).

He said where there were remaining funds, they were spent on maintenance jobs and the temple had documents to verify those payments.

“The temple has no idea if the contractors pay others [after receiving the money from the temple]. Sometimes the temple was asked to make payments to several accounts and we just did as asked,” he said.

The abbot’s defence came in the wake of a corruption scandal in which four state officials were suspected of having embezzled 60 million baht in temple maintenance funds.

Phra Rajavijitpatipan, who is also the monastic chief of Chumphon, said that prior to the establishment of NOB, the Religious Affairs Department was directly responsible for making payments to the contractors and no money went through the temple.

Wat Rat Burana is among 12 temples across six provinces (Ayutthaya, Lamphun, Phetchaburi, Chumphon, Amnat Charoen, and Lampang) where alleged irregularities were detected by the police Counter-Corruption Division (CCD).

According to the CCD investigation, the four NOB officials have been charged with malfeasance and embezzlement in connection with the temple embezzlement scandal. Four civilians were also implicated in wrongdoing.

Based on information by NOB chief Pol Lt Col Pongporn Pramsaneh, the office provides grant-in-aid for Buddhist temples nationwide to the tune of about 4 billion baht a year.

The budget is allocated to four main areas.

The office allocates 500 million baht for the maintenance of temples, 1.9 billion baht goes toward supporting religious education among Thai monks and a sum of 600 million baht goes toward promoting religious activities aimed at spreading Buddhism.

About 1 billion baht goes to a personal allowance funds for monks.

At the centre of the scandal are the first three categories.

Prime Minister’s Office Minister Ormsin Chivapruck, who oversees the NOB, said yesterday the office has launched a probe into the corruption scandal in the wake of the CCD investigation.

When asked if a law will be enacted to deal with the issue, he said information is being gathered.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday the authorities will conduct an investigation into alleged corruption by the temples on a case-by-case basis.

He said he has also instructed the PM’s Office, the Justice Ministry and the NOB to discuss with the Sangha Supreme Council methods to ensure proper accounting systems for temples nationwide.

Meanwhile, the National Steering Reform Assembly committee on religious affairs has approved a report on the development of accounting systems for temples to ensure transparency and accountability.

Bowornwet Rungrujee, the panel spokesman, said the report suggests that the Sangha Supreme Council or the NOB should issue guidelines for temple asset management and carry out audits of those assets.

Related laws and regulations must be revised and updated to ensure proper audits of temple assets, he said.

Buddhist temples are required to submit their assets to the NOB, but audits are not obligatory, he said, adding that the proposal will be forwarded to the cabinet.