By Zach Hope and Veena Thoopkrajae
Singapore: A sex scandal involving more than a dozen Buddhist monks and an alleged seductress known as “Golf” has been gripping Thailand, prompting action on laws to criminalise sex with those in the monastic order and safeguard its public image.
Thai authorities suspect the woman at the centre of the controversy used compromising images to extort money from senior monks with whom she had formed sexual relationships. Monks are supposed to be celibate and of high moral standing.
Wilawan “Golf” Emsawat (wearing face mask) during her arrest at her home in Nonthaburi on Tuesday. Credit: Thailand police
Golf’s real name was revealed as Wilawan Emsawat, a 35-year-old mother of three, after she was arrested at her home on the outskirts of Bangkok on Tuesday.
Her charges so far, which included money laundering and receiving stolen goods, related to 380,000 baht ($17,920) of temple funds she allegedly received in February last year from a senior monk, who has also been charged.
But police are pursuing more cases. They alleged on Tuesday that her bank accounts showed receipts for about 385 million baht ($18.1 million) since 2022, most of it spent on online gambling.
While the source of that money remained unclear, police alleged Golf had more than 80,000 photos and videos on her five mobile phones that implicated monks in sexual antics.
“This woman is a dangerous individual who must be apprehended urgently,” Police Major General Jaroonkiat Pankaew said. “With the evidence gathered and pressure to expedite the case, it has led to [the] arrest.”
Golf has denied blackmailing anyone and says she was actually giving money to monks.
Prominent monks attached to well-known temples across Bangkok and central Thailand have been disrobing – formally abandoning the order – almost daily as the story has widened. The number so far is at least nine. Three others are believed to be in hiding, while more still are expected to be implicated. Only one monk has been charged.
High-profile controversies involving misbehaving monks have eroded public trust in Buddhist institutions in recent years. But nothing has shocked Thailand’s 60 million-plus Buddhists like the Golf affair. The scandal has led news sites and TV bulletins for days.
Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau giving a press conference about the arrest of a woman involved in a sex scandal that included several senior monks.Credit: AP
Thailand’s all-powerful king, whose position is so revered it is a crime to insult him or his family, weighed in on Tuesday night with an extraordinary pronouncement that he would not confer any new monastic titles on the occasion of his July 28 birthday.
Like a chief executive suspending promotions amid an internal company investigation, the royal decree by King Maha Vajiralongkorn would at least temporarily restrict senior and junior monks in their career progression, regardless of whether they were involved in the controversy. For reasons that were not immediately clear, the king also revoked titles conferred on monks last month.
“These individuals [implicated in the Golf scandal] are no longer deemed qualified to hold such positions, having committed offences that constitute grave violations of monastic discipline,” Vajiralongkorn said in a statement.
“Their actions have caused widespread dismay and emotional distress within the Buddhist community.”
King Maha Vajiralongkorn has said he will not confer any new monastic titles on the occasion of his July 28 birthday.Credit: AP
High-ranking monks receive monthly stipends, known as Nittayaphat, from the government. In addition, ordinary Thais donate billions of dollars to temples each year. Poor accounting practices across more than 44,000 temples make the funds difficult to track.
The Sangha Supreme Council of Thailand, the nation’s governing body on Buddhism, held a crisis meeting on Monday that urged citizens to speak up if they knew of bad behaviour, and told all levels of monastic leadership to intensify supervision of their monks.
Senior Buddhists have met with government officials to revisit draft legislation that would impose jail time and fines on monks and laypeople who tarnish Buddhism’s image, according to news outlet The Nation.
Khaosod also reported the government was fast-tracking regulations that would require all temple cash to go through official accounts, as well as restrict the amount that monks could access at any one time.
The Golf scandal began in earnest on June 18 with a single complaint to police about a high-ranking monk from Wat Tri Thotsathep Worawihan, a royal temple in Bangkok.
Twelve days later, the monk, named Chao Khun Arj, was alleged to have disappeared from his temple and, without explanation, disrobed at a different temple in the north-eastern province of Nong Khai, before slipping into Laos.
Police alleged Golf told him that he had fathered one of her children and requested 7.68 million baht in child support. He did not pay, police said, but still had seriously violated monastic rules. The truth of the child’s fatherhood was unclear.
Golf has subsequently denied reports that at least one of her children was fathered by monks.
Investigations into Golf’s dealings with Chao Khun Arj led police to raid three temples on July 9, leading two more monks to disrobe and another to flee. The most recent monk to leave his order was a leader from Phichit province, who had allegedly been in a relationship with Golf since 2016.
The sole monk charged, Phra Theppatcharaporn, the former abbot of Wat Chujit Dhammaram in Ayutthaya province, was accused of transferring the equivalent of 12.8 million baht to Golf, 380,000 baht of which belonged to his temple.
“The former abbot confessed to transferring money, claiming that Golf had asked for the funds to run a business,” Major General Jaroonkiat said. “Believing her, he continued to transfer money – some of it from his personal funds, and some from the temple’s accounts.
“However, the former abbot denied having any romantic or sexual relationship with Golf. His testimony was considered helpful to the legal proceedings, and he was granted temporary bail.”
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