Murdered monk's body burnt, 'lost'
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PHATTALUNG police went yesterday to Khuan Panungtung Temple to probe the burning of a monk's coffin while the Phattalung head monk has expressed concern.
The coffin that reportedly contained the remains of Phra Suchat Rakmai, 66 – who was shot dead on September 16 – had been in the temple pavilion pending a royal cremation.
But a night after the coffin was burned, the monk’s body had disappeared and only the coffin base was left. The media were not allowed to photograph or video the scene until events and details were clarified.
Phattalung head monk Phra Ratchsutigavi said he believed the cause of the fire was not a short circuit due to the pavilion’s condition, which was new – and there had never been any electrical accident before.
Police should focus on an internal conflict. This case should have been reported to him in the first place, but it appeared not to have been, he said.
Pol Lt-General Damras Viriyakul, chief of Phattalung Police, said police were not able to determine the cause of what happened until evidence is confirmed. It would take around one month to receive verification results from Bangkok. There had been good progress on the Phra Suchat |murder case, but police could not reveal details as the investigation was ongoing, he said.
