Fake Thai monk’s gamble goes bust in Bangkok mall

Police arrested a fake Thai monk at a bank within a shopping mall in the Chatuchak district of Bangkok yesterday, October 3, for scamming money from Buddhists to clear his gambling debts.

Ironically named “Duangdee,” which translates to “good fortune” in Thai, this bogus monk’s luck ran out as he was apprehended outside Krungthai Bank in Central Lat Phrao shopping mall.

His arrest was made after the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau (IDMB) came across the donation advertisement on social media. The donation project was called the Rutal Temple Patronage Fund. The bank account mentioned in the post belonged to a man named Duangdee.

Police investigated the donation campaign and the bank account holder. They discovered that Duangdee left the monkhood in 2020. Further investigation revealed that Duangdee was at the shopping mall yesterday, so they closely monitored and arrested him.

Duangdee admitted to his criminal actions, saying he used to be a monk but became addicted to online gambling and later incurred significant debts. He decided to leave the monkhood in 2020. He then devised a way to easily make money by launching the donation campaign.

He created a fake temple stamp, forged an abbot’s signature, and fabricated other items related to temples and monks to deceive Buddhists into giving him money.

Duangdee’s confession led to two charges:

• Section 208 of the Criminal Law: Illegally dressing as, or using the symbol of, a monk. The penalty for this offence is imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of 20,000 baht, or both.
• Section 264 of the Criminal Law: Using a forged document, which carries a penalty of up to three years in prison, a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both.

A related story of a criminal who took advantage of Buddhism and kind-hearted people was reported in August. In that case, a fake Thai monk was arrested after attempting to deceive police officers into donating money to him.