Authorities better prepared to nab misbehaving monks
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Buddhists in Thailand are perhaps facing one of the worst crises in the Sangha as articles about misbehaving monks continue appearing on newspapers' front pages almost every day.
One such case is Wirapol Sukpol, an ex-monk formerly known as Luang Pu Nenkham, whose love for a luxurious lifestyle was first exposed via social media. His behaviour has shocked most people, including his followers.
The Criminal Court recently issued an arrest warrant for Wirapol on three charges. The warrant has a 10-year statute of limitations running from July 2, 2013 to July 2, 2023.
Tarit Pengdith, chief of the Department of Special Investigations (DSI), said the three charges were: violating the Computer Crime Act by allegedly posting false information on the Net to raise donations; statutory rape of a minor under the age of 15; and taking the minor away from her parents/guardians.
Now comes the tough job of bringing Wirapol back to Thailand to face punishment. Will this de-frocked monk follow in the footsteps of another monk who misbehaved?
Around 20 years ago, Thai authorities failed to bring the once-popular Phra Yantra back to the Kingdom. Yantra or Winai La-ongsuwan was defrocked after being accused of having had sex with his female followers. He later fled to the United States and was granted political asylum.
Records show that Thai officials did not push for the revocation of Yantra’s passport and visa, nor did they seek his extradition.
However, in Wirapol’s case, the DSI will not try to request his extradition as they know this process is time consuming.
Instead, the agency has chosen to notify the Office of National Buddhism to get the Centre for Monks and Novices’ Foreign Travel Control to push for the revocation of Wirapol’s passport. Tarit added that the DSI had already contacted the US and European countries to revoke the suspect’s visa.
Obviously, once Wirapol’s visa and passport are cancelled he should be flushed out of hiding soon, Tarit said. He added that DSI officials were ready to travel to the relevant country to pick him up, a process that should be completed in no time.
There is one thing the former monks share – they both face sex-related charges. Except in Wirapol’s case it is more severe because he had sex with a minor. Plus he is believed to have been involved in money laundering and trafficking drugs.
The DSI will be asking concerned agencies to freeze and seize Wirapol’s assets, such as his 41 bank accounts, land under his name as well as the many luxury cars he allegedly bought in different parts of the country.
If solid evidence is uncovered and investigation can prove that the former monk did indeed commit all the crimes, then it is quite likely that he will not escape punishment like Yantra did.
