Temple bell-ringing complaint leads to immigration probe
Police are checking whether immigration laws have been broken after complaints were made about a temple's pre-dawn bell ringing near a condominium at Wat Sai in Bangkok's Rama III area.
Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn, acting Immigration Bureau chief, said on Friday that officers would check if the owner of the condominium unit, from where the noise complaint was made, had informed the Immigration Bureau about a foreigner now staying there.
Officers would also check whether the foreign tenant had notified the Immigration Bureau of their correct address. If not, the foreign tenant could face a visa revocation and deportation, Surachate added.
The noise complaints prompted Bang Kho Laem district office to warn the temple. The temple's abbot then instructed monks to keep the volume down. The 1.2-metre-tall bell is rung at 4am every day during the Buddhist Lent period.
The case also led to hot debates on social media, prompting Buddhism’s highest body and related authorities to visit the temple on Thursday to seek a solution.
It was decided that a meeting would be held on October 10 for the condominium, the temple, the district office and nearby community residents, to resolve this issue.