Holy scandal! Monks caught with robes down in Miss Golf romp
Clerics vow crackdown as temple sleaze rocks Thailand’s religious order
A saucy scandal involving 11 randy monks and a mystery woman known only as Miss Golf has sent shockwaves through Thailand’s Buddhist community and now the country’s top clerics are scrambling to clean up the mess.
Thailand’s Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) is forming a special committee to review monastic regulations in the wake of a sex scandal that’s left the nation’s religious image in tatters.
The fallout comes after an internal probe found 11 monks, including abbots and high-ranking clerics, embroiled in a steamy affair with Miss Golf, a woman allegedly paid off with temple funds.
Following an urgent meeting, acting secretary-general Associate Professor Chatchapol Chaiyaporn said the Supreme Patriarch was gravely concerned about the damage to Buddhism’s credibility.
“There is a need to address loopholes in monastic law and restore public trust.”
The SSC admitted the Sangha Act of 1962 is no longer fit for purpose, despite multiple amendments over the decades. Crucially, the 2018 revision handed power to appoint top monks from the council to royal authorities but failed to fix key issues in managing wayward clergy.
A new oversight body will now be formed to overhaul monastic laws, boost transparency, and launch a PR push to stop Buddhism’s image going up in smoke. The plan still needs final approval from the Supreme Patriarch.
The council has also ordered senior monks to tighten control of their subordinates, with rogue monks facing immediate suspension if caught breaking Buddhist code.
Worse still for the naughty novices, any sexual or financial wrongdoing could also land them in criminal trouble, as monks are technically classified as public officials under Thai law.
The National Office of Buddhism (NOB) has been told to sharpen its act, with calls for a full government-backed restructure to protect the religion from further disgrace.
NOB director Intaporn Jan-iaem confirmed that names of all 11 monks have been passed to the Central Investigation Bureau, with six already stripped of their robes. They include abbots and senior clerics from Bangkok, Phitsanulok, Saraburi, and Chachoengsao.
Of the five still in the fold, two monks,–one from Bangkok, one from Phitsanulok, have gone completely off the radar. The SSC has given local monk chiefs strict orders to hunt them down, warning they could be kicked out of the clergy if they fail to appear.
Two other monks from Bangkok and Phichit remain in robes pending disciplinary review, while the abbot of Wat Chujit Thammaram in Ayutthaya has stepped down, Bangkok Post reported.
Meanwhile, Police Major General Jaroonkiat Pankaew has launched a financial probe into four temples, Wat Chujit Thammaram, Wat Yai Chom Prasat, Wat Kalayanamit, and Wat Prayurawongsawat, to find out whether any holy cash was used to pay off Miss Golf.
It’s the kind of spiritual scandal that could have Buddha turning in his lotus.
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