Followers of Phra Dhammachayo threaten DSI team with legal action

The move comes in response to the recently-issued arrest warrant against the monk. 

“We will submit complaints to the president of the National Anti-Corruption Commission [NACC] as well as to the government’s complaint-receiving outlets nationwide,” Ongart Thamnita said yesterday in his capacity as spokesman for Wat Phra Dhammakaya’s followers. 

The complaints target Pol Lt-Colonel Pakorn Suchivakul and Pol Captain Channarong Thabsarn, both of whom are from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and a part of the investigation team. 

Ongart yesterday accused chief investigator Pakorn and Channarong of abusing their authority.

He also said that the complaints would target Thammanoon Attachote for encouraging the officials to allegedly abuse their authority. Thammanoon was behind the complaint lodged with the DSI against Phra Dhammachayo. 

“The list of persons to be included in our complaints may grow as we need to ensure justice for Wat Phra Dhammakaya,” Ongart said. 

Phra Dhammachayo has run into legal trouble in the wake of the embezzlement scandal at the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative. Supachai Srisupa-aksorn, the disgraced former executive of the cooperative, had given the abbot a huge sum that in fact belonged to the cooperative. The temple said it thought the money was just donations.

Supachai faces more than 10 legal cases in connection with the scandal and has already been found guilty in some of them. 

The DSI summoned Phra Dhammachayo in relation to his alleged role in the case several times, but he has not shown up in person so far. Only his legal team has met the DSI, claiming the abbot was too ill to answer the summons. 

On Monday, the Criminal Court approved an arrest warrant for Phra Dhammachayo. 

DSI director-general Pol Colonel Paisit Wongmuang said yesterday that the DSI investigation team would send another summons to the abbot asking him to acknowledge his charges on May 26. 

“If he responds to the summons, we will consider granting him bail,” he said, adding that if the monk refused to respond, the measures taken against him would become increasingly harsher. 

He also said that the DSI had already alerted the Immigration Bureau to prevent the risk of Phra Dhammachayo fleeing Thailand. 

Asked about the possibility that the temple may have mobilised supporters out on the streets, Paisit said the DSI had no plans to respond to that kind of action. “Such matters will be left up to security agencies,” he said. 

Meanwhile, in response to the imminent threats, Pakorn said he hoped that Wat Phra Dhammakaya and its followers would not go too far. 

“Otherwise, we will have to exercise our rights to protect our reputation,” he said without elaborating. 

He suggested that instead of lodging complaints here and there, the followers should visit the DSI and get clarifications on how the investigation is being handled. “We have proceeded in line with law,” he said. 

He added that even though Wat Phra Dhammakaya had already returned money to the cooperative, there were still some civil proceedings to be settled. 

“It is not possible to settle criminal parts of the case out of court,” Pakorn said, adding the DSI was not acting on the case alone and that it had consulted four or five public prosecutors.