Thai police have arrested a girl who allegedly had sexual family members with clergymen, after which used pictures and movies of the acts to extort cash from them.
The girl, who police are calling “Ms Golfing”, extorted a minimum of 9 clergymen, police mentioned at a press convention on Tuesday. They imagine she won round 385 million baht ($11.9m; £8.8m) over the last 3 years.
Investigators who searched her area discovered greater than 80,000 pictures and movies used to blackmail the clergymen, the police spokesman mentioned.
This scandal is the most recent to rock Thailand’s a lot respected Buddhist establishment, which lately has been plagued with allegations of clergymen attractive in intercourse offences and drug trafficking.
Police mentioned the case first got here to their consideration in mid-June, once they discovered that an abbot in Bangkok had left the monkhood after being extorted through a girl.
Ms Golfing “had a courting” with the monk in Would possibly 2024, police mentioned. She later claimed to have his child and demanded kid improve of greater than seven million baht, they added.
Government then found out that different clergymen had in a similar way transferred cash to Ms Golfing – which police referred to as her “modus operandi”.
Police added they discovered that just about the entire cash has been withdrawn and a few of it have been used for on-line playing.
When investigators searched Ms Golfing’s area previous this month, they seized her telephones and located greater than 80,000 pictures and movies that she had used to blackmail the clergymen, police mentioned.
She is going through a couple of fees together with extortion, cash laundering and receiving stolen items.
The police have additionally opened a hotline for folks to file “misbehaving clergymen”.
The scandal has brought about the Sangha Preferrred Council – the governing frame for Thai Buddhism – to mention it is going to shape a unique committee to check monastic rules.
The federal government may be pushing for harsher consequences – together with fines and prison time – for clergymen who breach the monastic code.
This week, Thailand’s King Vajiralongkorn revoked a royal command he had issued in June conferring upper titles to 81 clergymen. He cited the new instances of misconduct, which he mentioned have “led to Buddhists to endure very much of their minds”.
In Thailand, the place greater than 90% of the inhabitants establish as Buddhist, clergymen are extremely respected. Many Thai males additionally select to quickly ordain as clergymen to amass just right karma.
However the Buddhist establishment has been plagued through scandals within the fresh previous.
Wirapol Sukphol, a jet-setting monk identified for his lavish way of life, made world headlines in 2017 when he was once charged with intercourse offences, fraud and cash laundering. And in 2022, a temple within the northern province of Phetchabun was once left with none clergymen in the end 4 of its clergymen had been arrested in a drug raid and had been disrobed.
In spite of years of complaint about disciplinary and duty problems throughout the Thai Sangha, many say there was little actual exchange within the centuries-old establishment. A large a part of the issue lies with its strict hierarchy, say professionals.
“It’s an authoritarian machine very similar to the Thai forms the place senior clergymen are like high-ranking officers and junior clergymen are their subordinates,” spiritual pupil Suraphot Thaweesak advised BBC Thai. “Once they see one thing irrelevant, they don’t dare to talk up as a result of it is rather simple to be kicked out of the temple.”
However some see ongoing investigations, each through the police and the Sangha council, as a key step to push forward with much-needed reform.
“The essential factor is to expose the reality in order that the general public can ease their doubts in regards to the innocence of the Sangha,” mentioned Prakirati Satasut, a sociology pupil at Bangkok’s Thammasat College.
“It depends upon whether or not the Preferrred Sangha Council will bring to an end some legs and arms to save lots of the group.”
