Temple denies stifling ‘change money’ probe

Everything is above board, insists abbot

Wat Pak Nam Phasi Charoen has denied the temple has tried to delay being investigated for its alleged receipt of controversial “change money” from maintenance funds allocated by the National Office of Buddhism (NOB).

Somsak Toraksa, adviser to the temple abbot, Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, also known as Somdet Chuang, dismissed media reports the temple postponed the authorities’ appointment to examine its accounts on Wednesday and turned away the police.

He said a Counter-Corruption Division (CCD) police team visited the temple on Wednesday and spent eight hours reviewing its financial documents.

The work extended to 9pm. Mr Somsak said he was on hand to assist the police and gave legal advice to the temple.

Somdet Chuang was also present during the examination although he left early to attend a doctor’s appointment.

He insisted police did not pocket any change money.

However, the temple has said it received a fund of about 10 million baht from the NOB for maintenance of temple facilities.

The temple has proper documents to prove where the money has been spent, he added.

Wat Pak Nam Phasi Charoen assistant abbot, Phra Prommolee, said the temple has taken no change money from the NOB.

It has paid for the construction of several buildings outside of the temple, including a new building at the NOB. The money used to pay for the construction came from public donations, according to the senior monk.

Police earlier said 60.5 million baht was siphoned out of 12 temples’ maintenance funds under the guise of “change money”.

Police and various authorities have since expanded the investigation as they are running checks of other temples which might have benefited from ill-gotten gains.

The government allocates a budget to the NOB for temple renovations and new projects at temples periodically, but the use of the funds has lately been riddled with corruption, police said.

The suspects, some of whom were high-ranking NOB officers, allegedly contacted temple abbots to propose funding for construction projects.

Corrupt officials would then demand kickbacks.

The temple abbot would be expected to give them some “change” in exchange for a project at the temple.

Yesterday, the CCD said its team has not concluded its investigation into Wat Pak Nam Phasi Charoen’s finances.

Apart from finding out if any change money had been picked up, Pol Col Warayut Sukwatthanakul, the CCD deputy commander, said would also need to ascertain if the temple has misspent any amount of the 10 million baht it was allocated.

The CCD, meanwhile, has also called on three other temples in Bangkok and inspected their accounts.

One of them was Wat Ratcharam in Bangkok Yai district.

Assistant temple abbot, Phra Sri Rattanamoli, said he welcomed the investigation as the temple’s reputation had been hurt.

He denied seven million baht had been wired by the NOB to the temple’s account.

The monk said it was possible someone had posed as a bogus temple employee to demand money from the NOB.

If the Prayut Chan-o-cha government has its way, Buddhist monks are to carry smart cards that show their backgrounds — a move that is designed to enable the authorities to scrutinise those in saffron robes. According to PM’s Office Minister Ormsin Chivapruck, a proposal on monk smart cards has been approved by the cabinet and the authorities involved are about to draw up an implementation plan while the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) studies the idea.

The move is aimed at tackling temple corruption following a series of graft scandals committed by monks seeking financial gain from the temples.

Last month, the nation was shocked by the murder of a novice at Wat Wang Tawan Tok in Nakhon Sri Thammarat. The suspected murderer is a former monk who allegedly wanted to silence the victim as the latter knew of his scams worth millions of baht.

It is believed that several temples draw hefty cash donations like Wat Wang Tawan Tok but as long as those at the temple can share a piece of the donation cake, they are not subject to scrutiny.

Under the plan, data centres will be set up to process the smart cards which will contain key information about the monks they are assigned to, including when they were ordained, which temples they are attached to, when they were elevated, whether they had left the monkhood before, and if they had any record of criminality or drug abuse. Currently, monks hold identification documents on paper that are difficult to track.

In addition to the cards, there is a plan to train monks and temple officials in making income statements and expense accounts available for examination for the sake of transparency. The NOB has required temples to submit their financial statements, but most temple accounts do not meet accepted standards and lack details. Disparity also exists between large and small temples.

The attempt to regulate monks is a welcome move. But the fact is temple corruption, though involving huge amounts of money, and wayward monks — involved in sex scandals and other worldly sins — is just the tip of the iceberg in Sangha affairs.

The more serious issue is the failure of monks to perform as spiritual leaders as so many fail to adapt to the modern world, while some restrict themselves to ceremonial roles — only chanting in Pali which people find difficult to connect to.

A loose screening system which aims to promote Buddhism throws up a dilemma as it lacks a selection process to put the right people into that spiritual role.

Under the system, almost every man can be ordained and become a monk. Unless they commit a serious worldly sin, they will be fine.

Admittedly some men choose to enter the monkhood as a way to escape poverty, and others want to be ordained as part of tradition, rather than to seek dhamma knowledge, or reach — and help others to reach — nirvana as preached by the Lord Buddha. Many monks are not reluctant to gather wealth, which is against dhamma rules.

Sadly, some monks pay more attention to climbing the Sangha’s bureaucratic ladder and detach themselves from the community. Such circumstances result in widespread loss of faith among disciples, with many turning to new sects, such as Wat Dhammakaya, that become major rivals to mainstream Buddhism.

Smart cards are just one measure. The real challenge to Buddhism is how to restore people’s faith. A key term is Sangha reform but as most of us know it is an uphill task.