Thailand’s Buddhist monks could soon be issued “smart ID cards” flagging any drug or criminal records, in the latest move by the junta to restore the tarnished image of the men in orange robes. The kingdom has around 300,000 monks, who are held in high regard as keepers of the national religion. But in recent … Read more
An elderly monk wanted for massive fraud may have escaped a three-week siege of his temple, Thai police admitted Saturday, thwarting a much-trumpted dragnet ordered by the kingdom’s junta. On February 16 the Thai junta invoked special powers to seal off the the 1,000-acre grounds of the Wat Dhammakaya temple on the outskirts of Bangkok. … Read more
Thai police ended their search of Thailand’s biggest temple on Friday after laying siege to it for more than three weeks without finding the former abbot, who is wanted for suspected money-laundering. The standoff at the Dhammakaya temple between thousands of police and saffron-robed monks has posed one of the greatest challenges to the military … Read more
One side of the temple gate is blocked by cops in blue, the other by rows of bald men in orange — the frontline of a bizarre stand-off between the Thai state and Buddhist monks that is raising questions of impunity, religion and power. The Dhammakaya temple’s compound in northern Bangkok has been under siege … Read more
Thai cops have uncovered secret tunnels running underneath a space-age temple of the controversial Dhammakaya Buddhist sect, as their manhunt for an elusive elderly monk accused of massive embezzlement entered a second day. Thousands of officers are involved in the search for the 72-year-old monk Phra Dhammachayo, who is believed to be holed up in … Read more
Thai police have begun searching a Buddhist temple complex in a bid to arrest an influential monk wanted over alleged money laundering. Officers entered the site after previous attempts were thwarted when thousands of the monk’s devotees turned up in his defence. The spiritual leader is believed to be inside the large compound. Police said … Read more
Soldiers and police surrounded a scandal-hit Buddhist temple on Bangkok’s outskirts early Thursday in apparent preparation for a raid to arrest the sect’s spiritual leader after Thailand’s junta leader invoked special powers to put the site under military control. A cat-and-mouse game between investigators and the powerful Wat Dhammakaya temple in Bangkok has played out … Read more