‘Sika Golf’ Arrested in Temple Fund Probe Amid Wider Monk Scandal

BANGKOK, July 15 (TNA) – Thai authorities have arrested “Sika Golf,” 35, on charges including supporting official malfeasance and money laundering.

The arrest stems from alleged suspicious transfers of 380,000 baht from an Ayutthaya temple’s funds, directly implicating its former abbot, Phra Theppatcharaporn, who admitted to transferring nearly 13 million baht to “Sika Golf.”

The arrest is a key development in a widening scandal that has rocked Thailand’s monastic order for weeks, involving a woman dubbed “Sika Golf” and numerous senior Buddhist monks.

The Anti-Corruption Division (ACD) is expanding its probe to all individuals connected to Sika Golf, meticulously reviewing digital evidence and financial transactions. This includes scrutinizing bank accounts of SikaGolf, implicated monks, and other related parties for crucial evidence, particularly after reports of 80,000 compromising photos and videos found on her phones.

Further investigation suggests over 25 monks had close ties to Sika Golf, leading to several prominent monks leaving the monkhood. While some evidence may have been deleted, authorities are actively recovering data, with some recovered information described as “quite shocking,” hinting at the scale of the alleged misconduct.

Sika Golf, visibly stressed upon arrival at the ACD headquarters, declined comment. -819 (TNA)