Deputy Abbot in sex scandal boys escape
A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a temple deputy abbot accused of paying for sex with two underage boys.
Two other monks, including an abbot, implicated in the scandal have been cast out of the monkhood. Phrasamu Udon Shinwangso, the deputy abbot of Wat Phayawat in Muang district, has disappeared from the temple, prompting police to obtain a warrant for his arrest, according to Phrakhru Sirinanthawit, the district monastic chief who chairs a clergy panel investigating the sex allegations involving three monks in this northern province.
The other two monks, Phra Phisutthisak of Wat Lab Muentai in Wiang Sa district, and Phrakhru Kittinantapreecha, the abbot of Wat Shae Phlang in Phu Phiang district, have been expelled from the monkhood. They were handed over to police and later released on bail, Phrakhru Sirinanthawit said. Allegations of the three monks having sex with underage boys were posted on social media, prompting the provincial governor to order an immediate inquiry, which concluded that the claims were well founded.
The district monastic chief said the three monks’ misconduct had tarnished the reputation of the monkhood in Nan and the affected the faith of followers of Buddhism. Two brothers now aged 19 and 15 told police that the three monks had bought sexual services from them in the past. The elder brother said Phra Phisutthisak had met him via Facebook when he was 13 years old and subsequently paid him for sex 4-5 times.
Later, Phra Phisutthisak had bought sex services from his younger brother, who was 12 years old at the time. Phrakhru Kittinantapreecha is alleged to have paid for sex services twice late last year, and Phrasamu Udon Shinwangso was accused of having sex with the younger boy twice at his temple this year. Pol Col Prayoon Chamnankong, chief of Muang police station, said the three monks would face charges of having sex with boys aged under 15 years, whether it was consensual or not. Police was waiting for a report on the youths from a team of psychologists and social workers. Source: Bangkok Post
