Scandals surrounding Luang
Pu Nen Kam Chattiko surfaced when he was filmed riding on private jet plane and sporting brand name
bag. Soon, it emerged that the monk has been cultivating a network of fervent and wealthy supporters
who had donated hundreds of millions of baht to his monastery.

Few years ago, he also
started gathering donations for construction of what he called the biggest Emerald Buddha in the
world, an enormous statue made of jade. The project is said to cost over 150 million baht and is
under final stage of decoration.

Speaking to our correspondent, a staff at
Thaiunovus said the company has donated one such device to Luang Pu Nen Kam out of faith. The
representative said that the company interviewed the monk so that he could offer his personal
experience with the air purifier. He insisted Luang Pu Nen Kam was did not receive any payment in
return.

In the meantime, the monk′s Emerald Buddha project might be run into legal
complication. Mr. Sahawat Naennar, director of the Department of Fine Arts, told our correspondent
that, according to a legislation enacted in 1977, one cannot simply construct a likeness of the
Emerald Buddha housed in the Grand Palace in Bangkok.

To do so, he said, one needs
authorization from the Office of the Royal Household and His Majesty the King himself. Mr. Sahawat
said his department had received no request from Luang Pu Nen Kam about the construction of the
imitate Emerald Buddha at his monastery. Therefore, the director said, his office will send a notice
to Luang Pu′s temple, advising them to comply with the law.

The robbery took place around 03.00 at 7-11 store
on Terd Rachan Road. The staff said the 2 assailants took 1,600 baht in cash from the cashier drawer
and 2 bottles of Johny Walker′s Black Label whiskey, which cost about 2,800 baht, before speeding
away on motorcycle. The 2 suspects reportedly completed their robbery within 40 seconds.

The
police are still searching for the suspects. They were described as no more than 170 centimeter
tall, wearing Guy Fawkes masks and black attire.

The incident coincided with the wave of
anti-government protests in recent weeks which saw the adoption of the White Masks as the
protesters? defiant symbols. The Redshirts had retaliated by holding their own counter-protests with
red-colored masks, sparking a new battle of colored politics.

The Facebook group ?V For
Thailand?, which has played crucial role in organizing the protests, took pain to state on Facebook
that the movement is not connected to the robbery in Don Mueng today. The statement also offered a
conspiracy theory that it was in fact the Redshirts who donned the White Masks and robbed the store
to discredit the group.

The greatness of the V crowd is expanding so fast that the
government resorts to any available means to stem it. The latest evil tactic by the Thaksin regime
and crooked politicians to discredit the White Masks is begun, the statement says, referring to
Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra, the center of the anti-government faction′s hatred.

The first case was reported to have occurred
when Mr. Dharma Srimakom, 39, was sitting in his parked car at a market, waiting for his wife to do
her shopping. Just then, Mr. Dharma told police, a bullet fell down from the sky and hit his arm
that was resting on the vehicle′s side window.
 
Police later realized that the
moment of Mr. Dharma′s injury coincided with monk ordination ceremony at the nearby Luang Por
Kiew Temple, situated 500-700 meter away from Mr. Dharma′s car. The police said they have
arrested 2 suspects who confessed to discharging their firearms into the air as means of
celebration.

The suspects reportedly told police that they took turn to shoot a 9 m.m.
handgun as the monk-to-be around the temple. They said they had no idea the bullets might have hit
someone. The police charged the 2 suspects with illegal firearm carrying, and unauthorized
discharging of firearms in the public area.

On the same day, Ms. Napapon Saengpakdi, 37, a
resident of Pathumthani province, told local police that a handgun bullet has smashed via her house
ceiling into the kitchen sink where she was washing the dishes, narrowly missing her. She said
it′s very fortunate that the bullet has not hit any of the 6 relatives, including small
children, who were staying at her house at the time.

Pathumthani police said 2-3 bullets
have also fallen onto the streets near Ms. Napapon′s residence, suggesting that the shots were
fired in the air by celebratory gunmen. Police said they are investigating the
matter.

Police received report about the incident around
00.30. When officers and rescue workers arrived at the scene – Somchit Farm in Kabinburi district –
they found heavily damaged pigsties filled with hundreds of dead pigs with burned injuries, while
injured pigs lay on the ground, baying their wretched cries.

Ms. Somchit Prakorbya, 52, the
owner of the farm, said that her farm supplies pork to the provincial branch of the food company
Betagro Group. She said she owned 1,474 pigs in total, many of them piglets.

The owner told
our correspondent there was lightning storm on the previous night, and suddenly a lightning has
struck in the middle of the pigsties, causing the blackout in the entire farm and igniting plastic
sheets which covered the pigsties. Ms. Somchit said she tried to dose the flame but failed, so she
called the emergency number. However, she said, by the time firefighters arrived most of the
pigsties are already burned down.

Reports said at least 500 pigs died. Ms. Somchit calculated
that the incident costs her 7-8 million bajt. The police said they would investigate for certain
whether the fire was caused by lightning or electric circuit.