Thief steals 20,000 baht from 100-million-baht temple in Photharam

A thief broke into the 100-million-baht Wat Phra Sri Aray temple and stole over 20,000 baht from the donation box. Police suspect an inside job and are conducting checks on all temple staff and monks.

Police received a report about a break-in at the Wat Phra Sri Arn temple, located in Ban Luek, Photharam district. The incident was reported by Chatchawan Janthawong, Deputy Inspector of Photharam Police Station, who immediately informed Chatchanon Narawutiporn, Chief of Photharam Police Station.

The case was assigned to Prachya Thecha, Deputy Chief Investigator, and Phanpruek Soithongmun, Chief Investigator, along with an investigation team to examine the crime scene.

The break-in occurred at the glass door on the lower side of the rear of the temple. The thief forced open the door and proceeded to break the lock on the staircase leading up to the temple. Inside the temple, the large glass donation box located in front of the main Buddha statue was found tampered with.

On the floor, four 20-baht notes were discovered, and fingerprints were found, prompting the police to contact the forensic team for further investigation.

Pinnaporn Phubuangern, responsible for cleaning the temple, recounted that she arrived for work at around 8am, yesterday, October 8. Upon opening the temple doors to begin cleaning, she noticed a set of ritual water containers knocked over and 20-baht notes scattered near the donation box.

Temple theft

Observing the lock, she realised it had been tampered with and immediately informed Thawit Promchat, the temple’s steward. It was then confirmed that the thief had cut the lock and stolen the donation money.

The estimated stolen amount is over 20,000 baht (US$600). A new lock was placed on the donation box but it was suspected that the thief did not take all the money, indicating an inside job. Since an outsider would likely have taken all the money, Pinnaporn quickly contacted the police. Unfortunately, the temple’s CCTV had been out of order for months, awaiting repairs.

Investigators later found 44 metal donation boxes attached to the pillars under the temple, many of which had been tampered with by the thief, who had drilled holes to extract money. This repeated theft pattern suggested the perpetrator was familiar with the temple’s routines.

The temple had experienced similar thefts, with the last one occurring on July 2, when a thief stole a donation box from the old temple’s courtyard and discarded it at the temple’s back.

Chatchanon Narawutiporn coordinated with Photharam District officials, the Buddhist Office, and the forensic team for a thorough investigation. They conducted urine tests on all temple staff and monks, reported KhaoSod.

Fifteen individuals, including monks and temple workers, were tested but no traces of drugs were found. However, one monk and several disciples were absent for the test, raising suspicions. The police plan to track down and test these individuals for both urine and DNA samples.