Clash between locals and temple guards follows fire
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A fire broke out at an abandoned monk cubicle at Wat Kalayanamit in Bangkok yesterday, resulting in a clash between locals and the temple’s guards.
It took firefighters about 20 minutes to put out the blaze. The cubicle is about 100 years old.
While Kalayanamit community members and firefighters were extinguishing the blaze, some men allegedly tried to hamper the operation by threatening the locals with a gun. Some of the locals were allegedly punched.
The incident has been reported to police.
“While the community members busily tried to put out the fire, a man that I remembered is the abbot’s guard used his gun to threaten the people. And another man, who is also the abbot’s guard, punched me in the face,” a local, Somkiat Suppakit, said.
It is understood that the guards returned to the abbot’s residence after the incident, resulting in the locals protesting in front of the residence.
The locals said the cubicle had been left abandoned for long time and had no electricity. They alleged the fire might have been caused by arson.
Pol Lieutenant Warinthon Onklai of Buppharam Police Station said police had summoned witnesses and people who were allegedly attacked to be interviewed.
He said no one had been charged and the cause of the blaze was being investigated.
