Thief poses as monk to steal 300k baht from Ubon temple
A thief disguised as a monk targeted the abbot’s quarters at a temple in the Isaan province of Ubon Ratchathani, stealing 300,000 baht. The incident, captured on CCTV, marks the second such theft, leading to a manhunt by local police.
The footage, shared by the Warin Chamrap Ban Hao Facebook page, shows a man dressed like a monk leaving the quarters with a cloth bag containing the stolen money.
The crime occurred on April 5 at Wat Thaisikha Patiphataram in Na Di subdistrict, Na Yia district. The abbot, Phra Maha Nukan, alerted Police Captain Surachart Yodkham and the Na Yia police investigation team, who were dispatched to the scene to investigate.
Phra Maha Nukan, the abbot of the temple, explained that on the day of the theft, the money was intended for constructing a new kitchen at the temple.
The theft was discovered around 11am when the keys, hidden at the door and covered by a cloth, were used to access the quarters. The stolen cash was taken from a cloth bag.
The abbot reviewed CCTV footage on April 16, revealing a fair-skinned man wearing a saffron robe without an undershirt, a woollen cap, and a mask.
This led him to believe the thief was impersonating a monk since proper attire should include an undershirt, and the exposed shoulder would typically be tanned from sun exposure. The abbot used this footage to report the crime to the police, hoping to capture the impostor.
This was not the first theft at the temple. On December 5 last year, a similar incident occurred when money set aside to purchase straw for monks and laypeople was stolen. Lacking evidence of the perpetrator, no police report was filed.
However, following this second incident, CCTV cameras were installed, capturing the thief who again posed as a monk to steal funds intended for kitchen construction. The footage was widely shared online to help identify the suspect.
The police investigation team is using the CCTV images to compare against local criminal records and has reached out to village headmen for assistance. The suspect is believed to be familiar with the temple and its activities, choosing times of heavy foot traffic to blend in and commit the theft, reported KhaoSod.
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