Fake Thai monk arrested after trying to deceive police in Hua Hin

A fake Thai monk was arrested yesterday after visiting Hua Hin Police Station in the southern province of Prachuap Khiri Khan and attempting to deceive officers.

The fake monk, 29 year old Wichai Praisingh, arrived at the police station at around 4pm, yesterday, August 13, and asked officers to donate to a monastery in the Sam Roi Yot district of Prachuap Khiri Khan. Wichai claimed that the money would support the construction of a new bathroom and cover the electricity costs at the monastery.

The police had a whip round among themselves and handed over 430 baht to the fake monk. Fortunately, before Wichai could leave, officers received an alert from a patrol cop that a fake monk was roaming the area, seeking money from locals.

The officers grew suspicious of Wichai and decided to detain him at the police station for further investigation. They then contacted the monastery mentioned by Wichai and discovered that there were no bathroom construction or donation projects as Wichai claimed.

Under questioning, Wichai admitted that he was not a monk but dressed as one to make a living through fake donation schemes.

The police revealed that Wichai earned a substantial amount from his scamming operation, though the exact amount was not disclosed.

Wichai was charged under Section 208 of the Criminal Code: illegally dressing as or using a symbol of a monk. The penalty for this offence is imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of 20,000 baht, or both.

In a similar incident in December last year, police arrested four Cambodian men for posing as monks and tricking locals in Chon Buri into making merit and donating money.

That same year, seven Bangladeshi men were arrested in the southern province of Songkhla after they posed as monks to pass through an immigration checkpoint. They were found to have entered Thailand illegally via the northern province of Mae Hong Son and were en route to Malaysia.