6 suspects, including monk, arrested for illegally running medical centre

Consumer Protection Police arrested six suspects, including a monk, at Khao Phra Krut temple in the central province of Suphan Buri for running an illegal medical centre. The gang claimed to be able to provide treatment for all diseases and offered medicines with exaggerated benefits.

Locals in the area urged officials to investigate the medical centre inside Khao Phra Krut temple. Locals believe the temple should not be able to provide any medical care adding that the temple’s costs were extortionate.

Complainants further pointed out that the temple’s medicines were not properly labelled in accordance with the law. Additionally, the temple was found to be selling unverified medicines online, alongside exaggerated online advertisements inviting patients to seek treatment at the temple.

Officials checked the advertisements on the temple’s Facebook page and found that a monk called Norrasri could treat diabetes, cancer and other diseases within one to three months.

According to Facebook posts, Norrasri meditated until he successfully cured his dog, Pee Mai, of cancer, and used this knowledge to treat people.

The temple offered four types of medicine that could cure almost any disease. For example, allergies, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, hyperlipidaemia, insomnia, physical pain, and Alzheimer’s, etc.

Expensive drugs, poor treatment

One of the victims told an officer about his experience at the temple. He said the monk and other staff made him believe he had terminal cancer and lured him into buying medicine for 4,000 baht.

The man had to visit the temple frequently for treatment. The monk asked him to lie on the floor and put stones on his chest, stomach and face. He also stuck needles into various parts of his body and used an iron rod that looked like a pen to rub the bloody wounds.

Officers raided the temple on Tuesday, October 24 and arrested six suspects involved in the operation, including the monk, Norrasri, two men named Raweewat and Datecharin, and three Thai women named Arinda, Areeya, and Wachira-aksara.

The raid resulted in the confiscation of 3 million baht’s worth of evidence, including 16,436 capsules of fake medicine, 18,000 empty capsules, herbal medicine, medical equipment and cash worth over 2 million baht.

Further investigation revealed that the temple had been built illegally on land designated as a national forest reserve.

Each suspect faces multiple charges of violating the Criminal Code, the Hospital Act, the Herbal Products Act, the Computer Act, the Forest Act and the National Reserve Forest Act.

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