An abbot at a Bangkok temple reported to police the theft of 10 million baht in cash and nearly 13 million baht in gold on Sunday, June 29. He insisted the valuables were his personal property and not related to temple donations.
Phra Ratchawatchara Phattanatorn, the abbot of Mueang Temple in Bangkok’s Bang Khae district, assigned the temple manager, Sakda Lertritsomboon, to file a police report at Phetchakasem Police Station on his behalf yesterday, July 1.
Police subsequently visited the temple to question the abbot. He explained that he hired two Thai men, Thawatchai Khamsen and Thinnakorn Tonkaew, to take him to a bank where he withdrew 10 million baht on Saturday, June 28.
The cash was then stored in the abbot’s office within the temple. However, on the morning of Sunday, when he returned to collect it, he discovered the bag containing the money had vanished.
Upon checking other valuables, the abbot realised that his gold bars, worth nearly 13 million baht, had also gone missing. He stated that he had been accumulating cash and gold throughout his monastic life and maintained that none of it came from temple donations.
The abbot suspected Thawatchai and Thinnakorn were involved in the theft. Police are currently searching for the two men for further questioning.
What drew widespread public attention, however, was not the hunt for the suspects, but the sheer amount of personal wealth the abbot claimed to possess.
Many netizens questioned how a monk, expected to lead a modest lifestyle, could amass such riches, suggesting that some monks appear to live more lavishly than hardworking salary earners. Comments shared online included…
“I really want my husband to become a monk to support the family. He earns so little now.”
“How did a monk manage to save 10 million baht?”
“Luxurious life in robes!”
“Monk is the best career.”
“No more studying, let’s become monks.”
Some social media users urged police to investigate the abbot’s financial records to verify whether the assets were genuinely personal.
The story Bangkok abbot’s wealth questioned after he reports 23 million baht theft as seen on Thaiger News.
