Fake monks charged for begging in Patong

PHUKET: Two monks with fake ordination certificates and a bank book were arrested by Patong Police yesterday.

According to reports from locals, Tanai Jai-uea, 52 and Bundit Sairat, 42, have been regular food beggars at the Sai Nam Yen intersection on Rat Uthit 200 Pee Road in Patong for two years.

“They were not doing alms rounds like other monks do, so we asked them to produce papers and verify their identities after repeated complaints from locals,” said Aniruth Bua-on of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Phuket Office.

“My staff found on them fake ordination documents linked to Wat Suwan Khiri Wong and a Siam Commercial Bank book issued at Chantaburi Province’s Tesco Lotus Branch.”

They two have been charged with carrying fake documents and are being held at Patong Police Station for further processing.

— Kritsada Mueanhawong