A collector's den

 

Opposite the house is also a townhouse with big trees. But this house is quite open as it is the place where Jatuporn welcomes his guests. He said the second townhouse does not belong to him. “If they didn’t give it to me, I wouldn’t have bought it,” he said, without elaboration.

 

Decorating his house here and there are products made by the red shirts, especially from Chiang Mai’s Ban Thawai. He is particularly proud of the bouquets made with Bt20 banknotes that the red shirts made for him while waiting to hear the bail order for this suspect, who is facing a terrorism charge.

 

On the second and the third floors of the Bt2.7-million worth townhouse that he has reported to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Jatuporn keeps dozens of Buddha images, sculptures of Thai revered kings and respected monks as well as the clothes – red shirts – given to him by his admirers.

 

“It is strange. They just came to me. One time I thought before I went to bed that I’d like to have a sculpture of King Taksin the Great for me to worship. In no time, even before I woke up in the morning, someone called me and told me that he would give me this sculpture,” he said. He now has such sculptures of King Taksin the Great in various postures, he claims.

 

Jatuporn also proudly said there were delicate ceremonies and mysterious stories behind the transportation of such sacred items. For example, a rare set of sculptures of six Great Kings of Thailand made in Nakhon Si Thammarat were meant to be given to some other person before, but the engines of the vehicles did not work so the set was safely transported to his house.

 

“And this is the house of the person accused of overthrowing the monarchy,” he said, laughing. “I am sure I have more sculptures of Thai kings than the Army chief does.”

 

Among the items produced or linked to revered monks, the most pieces he has are linked to Luang Pu Boon of Wat Klang Bang Kaew in Nakhon Pathom. “I’ve never been to the temple myself, but with the merit of kindness, [the items] were given to me more and more,” he said, adding that Luang Pu Boon is a revered and sacred monk whose products are delicately beautiful.

 

The items include Luang Pu Boon’s sculpture, moulds of garuda, the Maha-Brahma and the Siam Devadhiraj image.

 

Jatuporn also showed a sculpture of Phra Buddhacarya Toh Brahmasansi or Somdej Toh, revered abbot of Wat Rakang Kositaram, which he said he thought would be an amulet on learning that someone from the temple was giving him. 

 

However, attached with his necklace is also an amulet made by Somdej Toh himself. “This is not recognised widely. But this is so cool, the combination of the five Bencha Pakhee in the same amulet and on the back of the amulet the Chinabanchara Ghata.” He added that he also has many other amulets that would stun people. He declined to reveal them.

 

In Jatuporn’s house are also ancient talismans, including knives more than a 100 years old as well as a nicely carved ivory staff made and with an incantation by Luang Pho Doem of Wat Nong Pho, Nakhon Sawan.

Jatuporn said he receives many amulets from red-shirt admirers. His colleague Natthawut Saikua, now the deputy agriculture and agricultural cooperatives minister, also receives his fair share.

People who study amulets and talismans as well as Buddhism sculptures may know how much these objects are worth. Nevertheless, Jatuporn, who did not report these items to the NACC, said none of the items belongs to him. 

“People gave them to me, so I accepted them for the purpose of worship. I don’t own them. I don’t know what I should own them for,” he said.