DSI summons abbot over questionable donation

The DSI alleges the money came from a key suspect in the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement case, which resulted in a loss of around Bt16 billion in members’ savings. The abbot and the monks signed as recipients of about Bt800 million through 15 cheques issued to them by former cooperative manager Supachai Srisupaaksorn, said Phaisit Wong-muang, a deputy DSI director-general.

A series of meetings with the monks will begin next Tuesday, together with a number of people or businessmen who received donations from Supachai between 2009 and 2012 when he was manager of the cooperative, located in Bangkok’s Bang Kapi district.

Meanwhile, National Reform Council member Paiboon Nititawan yesterday established a public forum to be held at Parliament House on March 11 to hear feedback from the public over ongoing reforms related to Thai Buddhism and the Wat Dhammakaya issue. Two other forums will be held later outside Bangkok at dates to be scheduled, he said.

Paiboon, head of the NRC’s panel charged with reform and protection of Buddhism affairs, set the March 11 forum as a pre-emptive act in response to a call for the scrapping of his panel by a group of senior pro-Dhammakaya monks. The monks had earlier threatened to launch a large-scale rally on March 12 if Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and NRC president Thianchay Kiranandana did not disband Paiboon’s panel.

Paiboon said earlier he was not worried by the threat of a large-scale rally by the group of monks who support Dhammakaya.

A senior DSI official, Pakorn Sucheewakul, said the original set of DSI investigators had not summoned the abbot, but had meetings with his lawyers, but “this time Phra Dhammachayo will be summoned directly for explanations, as recipient of the cheques”. 

The DSI, following advice from public prosecutors, is probing further into Supachai’s issuance of 878 cheques during his time as the manager. Supachai, released on bail, has been charged with embezzlement by the DSI, and public prosecutors are asking for more evidence and further allegations against him from the DSI.

A large number of cooperative members have also filed fraud and embezzlement claims against Supachai, together with issuing a large number of civil lawsuits demanding he pay back their lost savings.

The abbot and Wat Dhammakaya have been under fire on several fronts, initially from public criticism over city-walk activities on several occasions that caused heavy traffic congestion. Also they were coupled with the credit-union embezzlement case, which linked the abbot and other monks to money allegedly received from an embezzlement suspect. The temple had said earlier that it would return some Bt700 million to the cooperative after media and public criticism, before this latest action by the DSI.

A pro-Dhammakaya activist, Sathian Wiphromama, acting head of the Association of Academics for Buddhism, said he would file a petition against activist monk Phra Buddha Issara. He accused him of intimidating acting pro-Dhammakaya Supreme Patriach Somdej Maha Ratchamang-khalajarn, by leading a rally last week to Wat Paknam where the senior monk resides, in a call for reform of the Sangha Supreme Council.