Showing 1 - 10 of 45
Scholar backs tighter curbs on temples
News, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 21/07/2025
» A legal scholar is calling for tighter financial regulation of Buddhist temples, arguing senior monks hold power equivalent to high-ranking government officials yet remain exempt from anti-corruption scrutiny.
Ecclesiastical chief of Nakhon Sawan quits monkhood amid sex scandal
Wassayos Ngamkham, Published on 20/07/2025
» NAKHON SAWAN: The abbot of Wat Nakhon Sawan, who was also the ecclesiastical chief in this lower northern province, left the monkhood just before midnight on Saturday night.
Poll: Most Thais believe some monks have misbehaved, should be punished
Online Reporters, Published on 20/07/2025
» The National Institute of Development Administration found in a recent opinion survey that most respondents believe that some Buddhist monks have violated monastic rules and should be punished.
Clergy in need of control, not reform
Editorial, Published on 20/07/2025
» After a long silence during Thailand's biggest sex scandal in the clergy, the Ecclesiastical Council and the National Office of Buddhism (NOB) have finally spoken out. Their big idea? A new law to imprison the offending monks and women involved in the scandal.
Senior monk linked to new scandal not from Bangkok, say police
Online Reporters, Published on 19/07/2025
» A prominent monk implicated in an alleged embezzlement case involving temple funds and affairs with a woman is based outside of Bangkok, a senior police officer said on Saturday.
'Big Tao' cracking down on misbehaving monks
News, Published on 19/07/2025
» The deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, has been seen at temple halls across several provinces in the past couple of days.
New scandal echoing 'Sika Golf' emerges
News, Wassayos Ngamkham, Published on 19/07/2025
» Police are investigating a high-ranking monk over allegations he embezzled hundreds of millions of baht in temple donations and engaged in an inappropriate romantic relationship, in a case reminiscent of the recent "Sika Golf" scandal.
Love, lust and lost funds
News, Karnjana Karnjanatawe, Published on 18/07/2025
» A growing scandal involving senior Buddhist monks and a woman dubbed "Sika Golf" has gripped Thailand in recent weeks. The case centres on Wilawan Emsawat, a 35-year-old woman accused of forging intimate relationships with high-ranking monks and allegedly using them for financial gain, sparking a wide-ranging police investigation and multiple arrests.
Charges mount against woman at centre of temple sex scandal
Wassayos Ngamkham, Published on 16/07/2025
» Police charges are mounting against the 35-year-old woman known as “Sika Golf” who allegedly had sex with many senior monks at well-known temples in many provinces and also blackmailed them.
Police to make background checks on all monks nationwide
Wassayos Ngamkham, Published on 16/07/2025
» Police will check the backgrounds of about 300,000 Buddhist monks nationwide in the wake of the scandal involving several senior monks and a woman known as “Sika Golf”, who was arrested on Tuesday.