Monk’s misdeed: Arrested for hiring a ‘poo’-litical hit on Thai abbot

Police arrested a Thai monk for hiring a man to carry out an acid attack on the abbot of a temple in the central province of Samut Prakan. The suspect admitted to paying for the crime but insisted poop, not acid, was thrown at the abbot.

The abbot of Iam Pracha Mitr Temple in Samut Prakan, Phrakru Winaithornbancha Punyatharo, filed a complaint at Phra Samut Chedi Police Station, claiming he suffered from an acid attack while receiving food offerings one kilometre away from the temple at 6.30am on August 22.

The abbot explained that the attacker approached him from behind and poured something over him before escaping on a motorcycle. The liquid made him feel pain and burning across his body, so he removed his monk‘s robe and asked his attendant to clean his body with water.

The abbot rushed back to the temple to change his robe and then went to the hospital. The doctor informed him that the liquid poured over him was water mixed with a chemical substance. However, as it was not concentrated, the abbot did not suffer severe injuries.

Police arrested a 44 year old Thai man, Chalie “Kluay” Somwang, on September 8 for his involvement in the attack. Kluay confessed that the attacker was his friend but insisted he was not involved in the attack. Nonetheless, he apologised to the abbot for his friend’s actions.

Monk behind crime

Further investigation revealed that a monk from the same temple, 39 year old Chatchai “Tom” Chantathammo, was behind the attack. Tom was arrested and ordered to leave the monkhood but he refused.

Tom admitted to hiring Kluay for 3,300 baht to attack the abbot because of a long-standing personal grudge. The abbot had treated Tom poorly for an extended period and recently barred him from an important temple ceremony, even attempting to expel him from the temple.

Tom and the abbot had clashed over numerous issues, both significant and trivial. Seeking revenge, Tom employed Kluay to throw faeces at the abbot.

Tom insisted that he only instructed Kluay to use faeces, not acid. He accused the abbot of misleading the police and the public by claiming that the injuries he sustained were caused by acid, when in fact, they were merely a rash from shingles.

Both the monk and Kluay were charged under Section 295 of the Criminal Code: physically assaulting another person, leading to both physical and mental harm. The penalty is imprisonment for up to two years, a fine of up to 40,000 baht, or both.