Nonthaburi abbot disrobes after alleged relationships with 6 women
A Thai abbot in Nonthaburi left the monkhood yesterday, February 23, following allegations linking him to a love scandal involving six women.
The allegations surfaced after a video showing an argument, reportedly driven by jealousy, spread on Thai social media. In the clip, a woman identified only as Pong claimed she was the abbot’s first wife and was seen confronting another woman accused of being a mistress.
In the video, Pong alleged the abbot regularly transferred money to another woman and arranged to meet her outside the temple. The woman was also accused of sending the monk a photo of her breast when she wanted money.
Another video showed a woman believed to be Pong arguing with the abbot and demanding he decide who he would choose.
After the videos drew public attention, Channel 8 visited a temple in Nonthaburi to interview the abbot. He was not at the temple, and another monk told the broadcaster he had left on a meditation trip. The monk said he did not believe the allegations and suggested the women in the video had argued because they were intoxicated.
Aside from the alleged relationship with the two women in the videos, a rumour circulated online also accused the monk of engaging in romantic relations with other four women.
Following public criticism, officials from the National Office of Buddhism investigated and visited Bua Kwan Temple yesterday to discuss the case and possible steps with the provincial monk chief in Nonthaburi.
The chief told officials the abbot had promised to disrobe within three days of the allegations emerging. The chief did not say whether the abbot admitted wrongdoing.
DailyNews later reported the abbot met the deputy chief monk the same day to take part in a disrobing ceremony.
According to reports, the National Office of Buddhism will record the abbot’s conduct in its database and report the matter to senior monastic officials. Further investigations will be conducted into the temple’s financial transactions and the sources of the money that the abbot allegedly gave to each woman.
In a similar case reported last year, a Thai woman named Golf was reported to have been in romantic relationships with at least 11 monks from different temples across Thailand. She was said to have received financial support from each monk and to have had children with some of them.
That case came to light after Golf allegedly demanded 7.8 million baht from a high-profile monk who tried to distance himself from her. She reportedly threatened to reveal their relationship, and the monk later disrobed.
The sudden disrobing prompted suspicions among senior monks and the monk’s followers, leading to further enquiries into why he left and the eventual disclosure of the alleged scandal.
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