A 70 year old Thai monk denied an allegation of sexual activity with a woman at a temple in the Isaan province of Buriram, claiming the woman helped him count water bottles.
A 53 year old man, named Preecha, told Channel 3 that he suspected the 70 year old monk, Boonsong, of having sexual relations with multiple women. He said he wanted the monk to leave the monkhood as a mark of respect for the Buddhists who respected him and made donations to the temple.
Preecha explained that on October 6, he visited the temple and noticed the monk behaving suspiciously. He kept an eye on him until Boonsong entered a storage room near his accommodation. Shortly after, a woman, about 40 years old, followed him inside.
The woman was reportedly a construction worker who was hired to build a new crematory at the temple. She was not the first woman to enter the storage room with Boonsong.
Suspecting inappropriate behaviour, Preecha attempted to open the door to the storage room but it was locked. He decided to set up a camera and waited outside for 30 minutes until the monk emerged.
The footage reportedly showed the monk covered in sweat and exhausted. The woman did not exit with him but instead hid behind several bottles of drinking water.
Preecha shared his suspicions with residents, urging further investigation into the monk’s behaviour. However, the monk chose to leave the temple and move to another 20 kilometres away.
The issue eventually faded after his relocation but Preecha felt it was unjust for Buddhists to continue to show respect to a monk whose actions were questionable. He therefore brought the matter to the media. However, by then, he had deleted the video and was unable to provide evidence to support his claims.
Channel 3 later interviewed the accused monk, who defended himself, claiming he did nothing wrong and had moved to a new temple to avoid further chaos in the community. He explained that on the day in question, he did not enter the storage room for sexual purposes but had asked the woman to help him count the number of water bottles.
The monk further explained that he was sweating because the room was very hot and lacked a fan. He added that due to his age, he was no longer capable of engaging in sexual activity.
Without concrete evidence, no officials have stepped forward to investigate the matter.
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