(31 August) A monk has
been arrested in Nongkhai Province after the locals found him taking illegal drugs inside the temple
cemetery′s restroom.
Mr. Sorasart Nuengmatsha, head of local security in Khuinagkhao
Village, Mueng District, said he was alerted by fellow villagers about the strange behaviour of Pra
Witthaya Pholyano, 40, after he was seen walking drunk in the village and damaging several
vehicles.
Mr. Sorasart then sought out the monk. He eventually found Pra Witthaya taking
drugs in the graveyard′s restroom, just behind a local temple. Police soon arrived to take the monk
into custody.
Pra Witthaya said he was visiting his fellow monk in the Ban Nong Song
Hong temple, and was about to leave town but it started raining so he took shelter in the graveyard.
There, the monk said, he met local teenagers who advised him how to contact the drug dealer
and successfully bought the drug for 250 baht. He admitted to taking drugs to pass the time until it
stops raining and his robes were dried, but insisted he never left the restroom to beat up anyone′s
car.
Pra Witthaya was eventually defrocked and charged with drug abuse.
