Moves afoot to have temples maintain accounts

[webfact]

Moves afoot to have temples maintain accounts
By The Nation

 

File photo: Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen

 

BANGKOK: -- THE MINISTER attached to the Prime Minister’s Office will discuss with the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) officials next Wednesday about the requirement to have temples keep an account of their incomes and expenses.

 

Ormsin Cheewapreuk, who is in charge of the NOB, said 47,000 temples have undergone the Key Performance Index assessment and 96 per cent had already submitted the results to the NOB.

 

Meanwhile, the famous Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen in Bangkok was unable to clear suspicions about  Bt28-million budget spending and police still are seeking the temple’s cooperation to provide information.

 

Because there was no equivalent position to move her to, NOB director-general Pranom Kongpikul, continues to be with the agency while being investigated for allegedly embezzling Bt60 million from maintenance funds belonging to 12 temples nationwide, said Ormsin.

 

Pranom, however, was suspended from work late last month after being allegedly linked to the embezzlement of Bt13 million in maintenance funds for Ayutthaya's Wat Phanan Choeng, which is among the 12 temples being investigated for embezzlement of maintenance funds dispensed by the NOB.

 

Three other NOB officials are under investigation, while four civilians were accused of aiding and abetting the crime. 

 

Ormsin said he was awaiting the fact-finding probe report, which should be out in 60 days. 

 

Temple spending under scrutiny

 

The Royal Thai Police’s Counter-Corruption Division officers, among other temples, have also visited Wat Paknam Bhasicharoen to check documents as part of a probe into alleged irregularities in the spending of a Bt28-million budget for temple restoration, a source said yesterday.

 

During the visit, police officers interviewed some monk witnesses and got some papers relating to the budget from the NOB. The monk, who is responsible for holding key documents detailing how the budget was spent, wasn’t there at the time, the source said, adding the monk would be summoned for questioning later.

 

The Central Investigation Bureau chief yesterday prohibited all police officers from commenting to the media about the temple fund corruption case. 

 

In a related matter, monks at Wat Huai Sai Khao in Phayao province’s Phu Kam Yao district declined to give any comment to The Nation yesterday about the Counter-Corruption Division officers’ investigation of the temple’s building construction project, which was funded by the NOB. 

 

It was alleged that the fund, proposed as Bt3 million, was siphoned off by officials and the temple last year received only Bt1.5 million of it. The building in question was still under construction with three to five workers at the site. 

 

A monk identified only as Phra Paitoon told The Nation over the phone that he had already testified to the investigators and it was not convenient to give any comment. 

 

Phayao NOB official Jureerat Jaikhaeng, who was preoccupied in another province, said she would make a statement today at her office.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/national/30320093

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-07-07

 

[soalbundy]

All the Thai institutions failing at the same time, all this Thainess is damaging the country, still never mind.

[manhood]

Sure all temples have to be controlled and investigated if they receive money from the government!!!!!!!!!!

but as it seems in thailand temples and the monks are nearly untouchable it could be a never ending place of money laundring and waste of money for not to use other wording that might explain what it really is!

[colinneil]

Temples required to keep accounts

That is something that will never happen.

Only this morning our local temple calling out for people to tamboon, started at 6 am.

People who donated theirs names called out over the speakers, fred gave 50baht, tom gave 100, nelly gave 100.

Wife left to go to school8.10, she went to the temple to donate, her name nor any other names since she went, have been mentioned.

That money will not go into the pot, but in a monks pocket.

[mikebell]

Whatever next! Police audits?

[scorecard]

28 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

All the Thai institutions failing at the same time, all this Thainess is damaging the country, still never mind.

 

Further, all governments for the last 30 or whatever years knew very well how much corruption was going on, in total hundreds of billions of Baht per year and in entwined in everything.  

 

Now things have started to move but still a long way to go to make any serious inroads to stopping corruption.

 

And a long way to go to seeing convictions and punishments handed out, not helped by the fact so many people are entangled and will therefore put up many many roadblocks to investigations, and will not give names etc., because they might reveal details which lead back to themselves.

 

If some action was taken 20 years ago or 10 years ago it wouldn't be quite so difficult. 

[tominbkk]

Good idea.  Thai style buddhism is a corrupt religion that needs monitoring.

[connda]

And then a push to have the laity contribute directly to accounts, then hello cashless society where the government can track every satang flowing through the system.  

[oldgent]

the government has to show some kind of control even though it will

never work. where are they going to find honest people to keep the books

[Cadbury]

10 hours ago, webfact said:

Moves afoot to have temples maintain accounts

Like many other shonky institutions the temples will maintain two sets of accounts. One for government eyes and one tucked away to control what money goes to the laundry and what comes back clean and where and who it goes to after that. 

[metisdead]

An off topic post has been removed. 

[clockman]

Thais stole Buddhism, from India then perverted it for Thai style religion! Just remember they are just men in orange robes!

[oldgent]

1 hour ago, clockman said:

Thais stole Buddhism, from India then perverted it for Thai style religion! Just remember they are just men in orange robes!

men in orange robes sums them up perfectly. My wish is I wish the poor Thai people would see them

as exactly that. 

[soalbundy]

8 hours ago, clockman said:

Thais stole Buddhism, from India then perverted it for Thai style religion! Just remember they are just men in orange robes!

lazy, work shy men at that

[Stargeezr]

I hope theTemples can all get over the corruption that is pervasive in Thailand. Kind of doubt it, but I do have

somefaih in Religious people. Hopefully they will rise above the corruption.

  Say where did the End of the Week rant go,  Did I miss it?

Geezer