Senior monks arrested for embezzlement

BANGKOK, May 26 (TNA) - Many Buddhists and monks gather at Bangkok Remand Prison to show their supports for five former senior monks arrested in temple raids on Thursday for charges linked to embezzlement of state fund and another former activist monk who faces criminal charges from his role in 2014 anti-government protest. In the swift operations Thursday morning, police searched three temples in Bangkok - Wat Sam Phray, Wat Saket, and Wat Samphanthawong – with arrest warrants for seven senior monks allegedly siphoning millions of baht off temple development funds. Police officers found only five of them while the other two are believed to have fled their temples. In the other raid at Wat Ornoi in Nakhon Pathom, police arrested activist monk Phra Buddha Issara for his role in anti-government protest in 2014. All of them have been remanded at the Prison after the Criminal Court allows investigators to detain them for further investigation. A supporter of former Phra Buddha Issara and ex-senator Paiboon Nititawan visited him inside the prison. He told reporters that the former Phra Buddha Issara were in good spirit and would not seek bail at the moment. Phra Buddha Issara has been actively pushed for reform of Thai Buddhism and has been exposing the corruption scandal among Buddhist monks. Paiboon said the abbot of Ornoi Temple did not blame police but supported operations to “clean up” Buddhism. Some monks from the temples in question were seen entering the Prison to visit the five senior monks. From the police investigations, four laymen have also accused of illegal transactions of millions of baht. These seven monks and four laymen are the third group of suspects accused of embezzling state fund intended for Buddhism affairs, in a series of scandals exposed since last year. The National Buddhism Office (NBO) had lodged a complaint regarding irregularities in the uses of the fund last month. The two monks on the run -- Phra Phromsitti, 62, the abbot of Sa Ket Temple, and Phra Phrommedhi, assistant abbot of Sampantawongsaram Temple – have been placed on police wanted list. (TNA)