Luang Phor Alongkot agrees to leave the monkhood

Luang Phor Alongkot, former abbot of Phra Bat Nam Phu Temple, agreed to leave the monkhood today, to face charges of embezzlement and money laundering. He is currently in police custody for questioning.

Pol Maj-Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of Central Investigation Bureau, claims that the ex-monk was not being fully cooperative during questioning.

Meanwhile, the director of the National Office of Buddhism, Veera Chamlong, said that the temple now has about 10 million baht left in eight bank accounts, while the monthly expenses average about two million baht. This means that the temple will not be able to take care of the AIDS patients for much longer.

The monthly expenses include 350,000-400,000 baht in electricity bills, 20,000 baht for food per day for about 200 AIDS patients, plus the cost of feeding about 500 monkeys, he said.

He disclosed that some organisations have offered to help in taking care of the AIDS patients and an acting abbot has been appointed to manage the temple’s funds.

Another suspect, Seksan Sapsubbsakul, aka ‘Mor Bee’, is being separately held for questioning by the police on similar charges.

Crime Suppression Division police report that they found more than three million baht in cash during a search of Seksan’s house in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district, but the suspect claimed that the money was given to him by several of his clients, who had asked him to communicate with the spirits of their deceased loved ones.

He also claimed that several of his clients sought his advice regarding their deceased loved ones, adding that he did not demand anything from them in return, but the money was given to him of their own free will.