Senior monks summoned in temple scam

[webfact]

Senior monks summoned in temple scam

By KORNKAMOL AKSORNDEJ 
THE NATION

 

Prime Minister’s Office Minister Omsin Chiwaphruek.

 

Sangha supreme council ‘not involved’

 

POLICE have summoned four senior monks to answer charges related to a temple-subsidy corruption scandal. 

 

The four monks are Phra Khru Kitti Patcharakhun, abbot of Lard Khae Temple in Phetchabun province and monastic chief of the province’s Chon Daen district; Phra Ratcharattanamuni, assistant abbot at Pichayayatikaram Temple in Bangkok; Phra Thep Sanabodee, abbot of Kawisararam Temple and monastic chief of Lop Buri; and Phra Wisuttiwattanakij, assistant abbot of Ratchasittaram Temple in Bangkok. 

 

“They will be charged with abusing their authority, dereliction of duty and abetting wrongdoing,” Pol Colonel Warayut Suwatthanakul, deputy commander of the National Police Office’s Counter Corruption Division (CCD), said yesterday. 

He added that Phra Thep Sanabodee would face an additional charge of faking official documents. 

 

According to the CCD, the four monks and 15 other suspects embezzled state subsidies for 23 temples between 2012 and 2017, causing damages of about Bt140 million. 

 

“We have already informed the Sangha Supreme Council [SSC] and also the National Buddhism Office [NBO] of these monks’ alleged role in the corruption,” Warayut said. 

 

He said the move was meant to trigger criminal proceedings and monastic actions against the offenders. 

 

Among the laymen who were alleged accomplices are NBO’s former directors Phanom Sornsilp and Nopparat Benjawatananan, Sing Buri Buddhism Office staff member Narongdej Chainet, NBO academic Pattana Su-ammartmontri, Buddhist Monastery Division chief Chatchai Chuchau and NBO public works engineer Payong Siluang. 

 

Warayut and CCD chief Pol Maj-General Kamol Reanracha also forwarded their division’s investigation report about the case to the National Anti-Corruption Commission yesterday. 

 

Prime Minister’s Office Minister Omsin Chiwaphruek said authorities would seek arrest warrants if the accused monks failed to answer the summons. 

 

He denied speculation that some SSC members had been involved in the corruption. 

 

“No, I have not received any report that senior monks in the SSC are implicated,” Omsin said. 

 

Initially, the CCD investigated 11 temples and detected irregularities with the amount of embezzled funds estimated to be Bt60 million.

 

When the investigation expanded further, the department found irregularities at 23 other temples leading to the summonses for the four monks and their alleged accomplices. 

 

To date, six suspects in the case have already come forward to acknowledge the charges but denied wrongdoing. 

 

Phanom also said he was not involved in corruption, although a search of his home last week uncovered gold bars weighing about 1.2 kilograms and worth about Bt1.76 million. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30327661

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-09-26

[rkidlad]

Let’s see how senior they are. It will determine their guilt and whether or not this is all just a big misunderstanding.

[Samui Bodoh]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

“We have already informed the Sangha Supreme Council [SSC] and also the National Buddhism Office [NBO] of these monks’ alleged role in the corruption,” Warayut said. 

 

The SSC and the NBO are the bodies set up to oversee the temples and their activities.

 

The story mentions 23 temples and 140 million baht, and both those numbers are sure to rise (if investigated).

 

How is this NOT criminal negligence on the part of the SSC and NBO?

 

[godblessemall]

Stealing is one of the five heinous acts which result in a monk being 'defeated' and thus no longer a monk, whether disrobed or not. Thus these guys are guilty of cheating people since their act, by remaining dressed as false monks, and will assuredly suffer in hell for a long time.

[Get Real]

Let´s say that we all understand why the overseeing Sangha Supreme Council is not involved.

23 tempels and a staggering amount of 140 million Bath embezzeled only at start!

Let´s just say that it looks like they can´t se the forest, because of all the trees. Probably why there is no need to involve them.

[12DrinkMore]

Thailand needs a huge bonfire of orange frocks.

[Media1]

Look for most of these people just waking up each morning is a scam

[robblok]

2 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

The SSC and the NBO are the bodies set up to oversee the temples and their activities.

 

The story mentions 23 temples and 140 million baht, and both those numbers are sure to rise (if investigated).

 

How is this NOT criminal negligence on the part of the SSC and NBO?

 

Hard to prove negligence if certain schemes are hatched. They followed the procedures as dictated by SSC and NBO.

 

I am not sure if you ever been educated in administrative organisation and the need to separate certain tasks ? If you have separated those tasks, but people with those separate tasks are working together to defraud. Then it certainly is not negligence because no system is full proof against stuff like that. (I studied this to become an accountant to how to setup systems like that).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_duties

 

The way this scheme worked was that the monks asked for more then they wanted.. (1 duty) and the one giving the ok (1 duty) did so while an other guy paid (again separate duty). But the problem was that the monks and the one giving the OK were working together and you can't really build a system to stop that. Plus the fact that the tempels hold bad administration (believe they are not required to be audited) 

 

So you can't really blame them for setting up a good system that was abused by others. Hopefully they learn something from this.

 

You could have charged them for negligence if they were told this was happening beforehand and nothing was done to stop it. 

[halloween]

3 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

 

The SSC and the NBO are the bodies set up to oversee the temples and their activities.

 

The story mentions 23 temples and 140 million baht, and both those numbers are sure to rise (if investigated).

 

How is this NOT criminal negligence on the part of the SSC and NBO?

 

Try to keep up. 6 senior officers and ex-officers of NBO have already been charged, they are not negligent they are complicit.

[robblok]

5 minutes ago, halloween said:

Try to keep up. 6 senior officers and ex-officers of NBO have already been charged, they are not negligent they are complicit.

Yes but that does not mean the whole system of SSC and NBO like he is saying.. we are talking here about individuals. I like that these guys are getting caught.. i hope they indite some of the monks too because its hard to believe they are so stupid and/or were not rewarded for playing the game.