Medical council issues ultimatum to Dhammachayo
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The Medical Council of Thailand has requested to review the medical diagnosis of Phra Dhammachayo, the controversial abbot of the Pathum Thani-based Dhammakaya Temple.
If the request is turned down, the council will conclude that his medical certificate – and his claimed illness – are fraudulent, council president Dr Somsak Lolekha said Thursday.
The temple claims the abbot has been seriously ill and unable to face charges of money laundering and receiving ill-gotten wealth at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) head office despite a summons and subsequent arrest warrant.
Before the council’s meeting Thursday, which discussed the assignment of a sub-panel to investigate the abbot’s medical certificate, Somsak said the sub-panel would summon Lt Colonel Dr Siripong Pattanapisut, the doctor who issued the certificate, for questioning.
The council also requires that details about the abbot’s health, including blood test, ultrasound and X-ray results, be submitted by the temple’s Saha Rattanavej Clinic.
The requirement is within the council’s authority, Somsak said, but added that it did not need to send its own doctors to diagnose the abbot.
