A monk wanted for opening a bank account used in a romance scam has been arrested after police tracked him down hiding inside a temple in Chatuchak district, Bangkok.
Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers from the Crime Suppression Division’s Sub-division 1 arrested the monk, whose civilian name is Suriya, on July 18 inside a temple in the Lat Yao subdistrict. He was wanted under a Criminal Court arrest warrant dated May 7, accusing him of supporting fraud by impersonation, supporting the input of false data into a computer system, and allowing another person to use his bank account without intending to use it himself.
The case dates back to 2024, when a victim was contacted on Telegram by a scammer posing as a foreign singer. The scammer built a relationship with the victim over time, a tactic known as a romance scam, before claiming to have sent a gift that had become stuck in transit. The victim transferred money to several accounts as instructed, losing more than US$5,900 (200,000 baht) in total. One of the accounts used belonged to Suriya.
After discovering the fraud, the victim reported the case to Bueng Kum Police Station, and investigators secured a court warrant for Suriya’s arrest. CIB officers later learned he had gone into hiding inside the Lat Yao temple and staked out the area before making the arrest. He was handed over to Bueng Kum police for further prosecution.
Suriya confessed to all charges. He said that around 2023, before he was ordained, he was living in the Hua Lamphong area with a friend when a man known only as Bom, who recruited people to open bank accounts for a fee, approached him with an offer of 300 baht and a meal.
Suriya opened two bank accounts at a department store in the Sam Yan area and handed them to Bom. When he later asked for the passbooks back, Bom refused to return them and disappeared, cutting off all contact. Suriya was ordained as a monk about three years ago and remained in the monkhood until his arrest, reported Amarin TV.
In another separate incident, a 70 year old monk in Prachin Buri admitted to a sexual encounter with a fellow monk after an explicit video leaked online, sparking backlash. He blamed jealousy for the leak. The other monk denied the claims, backed by his temple’s abbot, who cited his health conditions. Jong later left the monkhood.
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