(23 July) Police actions
were taken against misbehaviour of monks in 2 separate cases today.
The first incident
involved monks who allegedly used illegal substances in Ayutthaya province. Police visited
Wat Kam Paeng
Temple in Bang Pa-In district after its abbot complained that 3 monks were taking drugs in
the monastery.
When police investigated the scene, they had found drugs taking equipment in
the 3 monks’ belongings. Trace of illegal substance was also detected in the monks’ urine. The 3
monks were subsequently defrocked and taken into custody.
The suspects were identified as
Mr. Dusit
Pongbua, 27, Mr. Chalermpon Tiemamphon, 27 and Mr. Kritsada Kongyoo, 22. All of them were charged
with drug abuse.
Meanwhile, police in Loei province were called to investigate a road
accident in which a car tumbled halfway into a pond near the highway in Mueang District.
Phra
Jatupon Prombuddha, 41, a monk from a nearby temple, was standing outside his car with some injuries
from the crash.
The monk said that he was the driver, as he and the other monk, called
Phra Keng, were headed to Sri Boonrueng District in Nong Bualampoo province.
Inside
the car, police found 5 empty beer bottles, which Phra Jatuporn later admitted that he drank, but he
claimed he was forced by Phra Jatupon to do so.
Phra Jatupon told the police that they had
stopped over to buy 20 beers, and the pair had been drinking in car. However, he said, they started
having fights on the road out of drunkenness, which eventually led to the accident. Nonetheless,
Phra Keng was nowhere to be found at the scene.
The police later sent Phra Jatupon to the
nearby hospital to treat his injury. There they found illegal drugs under his robe belt. His urinary
test also revealed that his body contained illegal substances.
Police later took Pra Jatupon
to be defrocked at Pisanruntawas Temple, before charging him for having illegal substance in
possession, taking illegal substance while driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol.
Further investigation is underway.
