2 British tourists expose Chiang Mai monk for inappropriate kissing
Temple silence disrumpted by unexpected behaviour of old monk
Two British tourists exposed a monk at a temple in the northern province of Chiang Mai for inappropriately kissing her and her friend on the cheek during a visit on March 30. The monk reportedly responded to the foreigners with rude and aggressive language after the incident was made public.
A Thai man named Thanawat shared the account, which he heard from his two foreign friends, with another friend who is a journalist at ThaiRath. The news agency subsequently reported the story, attracting public attention and ultimately resulting in the monk’s removal from the temple.
According to one of the foreigners in the group, a man named Joe, he and his half-Thai, half-British friend visited the temple in Chiang Mai’s San Pa Tong district and were sitting peacefully on the premises when the monk approached them.
The monk, later identified as 76 year old Tuan, began speaking in Thai to the woman. Although she is of mixed heritage, she did not understand Thai. Nevertheless, both visitors pretended to understand and nodded politely.
Joe said the monk was talkative and unexpectedly touched his friend’s face. He then pulled out his phone and showed them a photo of a woman, implying that Joe’s friend resembled the woman in the picture.
While the two foreigners disagreed with the comparison, they chose not to comment. However, they were even more shocked when the monk grabbed the woman’s arm and sniffed her. Joe added that the monk almost kissed her, leaving her shocked and confused.
The monk later took a photo with both foreigners before inviting them into his private quarters. There, he asked them to sit on his bed and proceeded to grab their heads and kiss their cheeks like he was performing a social kiss.
Feeling uncomfortable, the foreigners, aware that such behaviour was inappropriate for a monk under Buddhist principles, took photographs of the encounter and shared them with Thanawat.
ThaiRath later visited the temple and learned from resident monks that Tuan was not ordained at their temple. He arrived from another monastery, requesting temporary residence on the grounds, allegedly for easy access to a nearby hospital.
Tuan had reportedly been staying at the temple for over a year, living alone in a small hut separate from the other monks. The report did not specify the medical conditions he had.
When interviewed by a ThaiRath journalist, Tuan initially denied any wrongdoing. He claimed he did not kiss the foreigners and accused them of editing the photographs to damage his reputation.
However, after further questioning, Tuan eventually admitted to his actions and responded rudely to the two foreigners…
“What are they thinking? Son of a b*tch! Why did they dare to do this to me? They don’t know what’s right or wrong. Damn bastard! Motherf*cker! I didn’t expect them to do this. Go to hell!”
Following the report, the matter was brought to the attention of the temple’s abbot, who ordered Tuan to vacate the premises by Friday, May 23. No information has been released about his whereabouts following his removal.
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