A missing abbot from Ayutthaya has been traced to Tak and was last seen travelling to Phitsanulok yesterday, April 23, as police continue efforts to locate him.
The missing Ayutthaya abbot case centres on 58 year old Sombat Sirisuwanno, abbot of Sanam Chai Temple, who was reported missing after leaving the temple on the night of March 16.
Temple staff said Sombat told them he was going to Ratchaburi to collect his son, who has a mental illness, before taking him to his mother in Khon Kaen. He reportedly left in a bronze Toyota sedan with a driver he had contacted through social media and was carrying about 100,000 baht in cash.
Sombat later met his ex-wife in Khon Kaen, asked her to care for their son and gave her 10,000 baht before leaving with the same driver. His ex-wife later suspected the driver may have robbed or murdered the monk, prompting the man to speak to police.
The driver told police that Sombat had asked to travel further north, but he was too tired to continue. He said he then contacted another driver and arranged to transfer the monk at a petrol station in Saraburi before returning home.
Temple staff and residents said the temple had taken out a loan of about 1.4 million baht for development work. They added that Sombat had previously mentioned feeling exhausted and overlooked in relation to temple management.
Police examined the temple’s financial transactions and reported no irregularities. Investigators believe the abbot left due to stress rather than to evade any wrongdoing.
Sombat was later seen in Tak province. CCTV footage showed him walking slowly beside a road and appearing disoriented, with signs he may have been suffering pain in his feet.
According to the latest report from KhaoSod yesterday, CCTV outside the Tak Provincial Administrative Organisation showed Sombat riding on a motorcycle with a man towards the city centre. He later appeared at the bus terminal and boarded a coach from Tak to Phitsanulok, which reportedly departed at about 7.30am.
Chatchai Kittichai, the owner of a market near Sanam Chai Temple, has offered a 30,000 baht reward for information leading to the abbot’s whereabouts. Police are continuing the investigation and reviewing CCTV footage to trace him.
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