Thai police uncovered a dirty little secret at a temple after raiding the place following complaints that the monks fired weapons and did drugs. While they did find a pistol, what stumped them more was the discovery of a stash of porn, sex toys, a penis pump, and a contact list of prostitutes. Four Buddhist monks were found in possession of these items and were arrested for violating their monastic vows. Police searched the Phrom Sunthon Monastery in Chonburi province on January 27 after receiving complaints from villagers that the monks possessed firearms and drugs. Upon searching the temple, the police found £2,070 (89,000 baht) in cash, a DVD player with a porn disc inside, a list of prostitutes and a penis enlargement pump. The monks arrested have been identified as Phra Supachai Jantawong, 35, Phra Wirat Mukdasanit, 45, and Phra Thanapol Maison, 59, and the temple abbot, Phra Photisang Taebmuan, Daily Mail reported. Three of them also tested positive for methamphetamine. All four of them have been removed from their position and banned from practising Buddhism.
Colonel Saksilp Kamnoedsin of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) of Chonburi said, "The three monks found to be using drugs will be sent to the police and relevant authorities for rehabilitation." The temple abbot was found to be a Karen national and unregistered in civil records. Karen people primarily belong to an ethnic group indigenous to Myanmar. The police said he was handed over to immigration officials for further investigation and will then be deported to his country of origin. Supachai, one of the monks who tested positive for meth, said that he took the drug for pain relief from diabetes and high blood pressure.
Buddhism is the primary religion in Thailand. However, the monks have been embroiled in sex scandals, with a major one exploding in July last year. A woman named Wilawan Emsawat, known as Sika Golf, was blackmailing senior monks at popular temples with sexually explicit pictures and videos. Several high-ranking monks gave temple funds to the woman to stop her from exposing them. Around 80,000 sexually explicit pictures and videos involving multiple senior monks were found at her home. Pictures showed her engaging in sexual acts with the monks, which she used against them. She is said to have made £9million (approx 387 million baht).
Source: WION