Police in Thailand arrested a woman on Tuesday who allegedly tempted a cascading stream of Buddhist monks into sexual relations and then forced them to make a lot of payments to cover up their intimacy.
In recent weeks, monks’ possible violation of Buddhist institutions and have attracted public attention in Thailand. Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said at least nine abbot scandals and senior monks involved in the scandal were abandoned and abandoned.
Wilawan Emsawat in the mid-1930s was arrested at his home in Nonthaburi province, the northern part of the capital of Bangkok, including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods. Police said they transferred the funds to her money from bank accounts at temples in northern Thailand.
Willavan has not issued a statement since her arrest and it is not clear whether she has a legal representative. She spoke in local media before being arrested, and she admitted to a romantic relationship and said she had given it to the monk.
Scandals involving monks surfaced several times a year in Thailand, but usually do not involve senior members of the clergy. The case also attracted attention, a large sum of money donated to housing-controlled temples, in stark contrast to the false life they were supposed to lead under the precepts of their religion.
A high-level monk who was deliberately targeted
Police said Wilawan deliberately targeted senior monks to financial interests.
Police say that over the past three years, Willavan’s bank account has received about 385 million baht ($16.2 million in CDN), but most of the funds are spent on online gambling sites.
Jaroonkiat Pankaew, deputy director of the Central Bureau of Investigation, said the investigation began last month after the abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok suddenly left the monks.
Investigators found that the abbot allegedly was blackmailed by Wirayan for his romantic relationship. She told the monk that she was pregnant and asked him to pay 7.2 million baht (about $303,500 in CDN) for financial aid.
Police believe: “This woman is dangerous and we need to arrest her as soon as possible.”
Thai media reported that her cell phone search showed thousands of photos and videos, as well as many chat logs, indicating close relationships with several monks, many of which could be used for blackmail.
Thai monks should not touch women
Thai monks are mainly members of Theravada sect, which requires them to be single and avoid touching women.
Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples, especially the transparency of temple finance, to restore faith in Buddhism, government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said on Tuesday.
Jaroonkiat said the CBI has set up a Facebook page for people to report monks who have not yet been transferred.
“We will investigate monks across the country,” he said. “I believe the ripple effect of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes.”
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