A Thai monk in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat denied having an affair with a foreign man’s wife in Phuket, following an accusation made by the woman’s neighbour.
A Thai man living in Phuket, Satsawat, accused his neighbour of allegedly engaging in an affair with a monk identified as Apichart Damjam, from Cha-uat district in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Satsawat shared a video with Channel 8 showing monk robes being hung out to dry at his neighbour’s house.
Satsawat claimed that the monk frequently visited his female neighbour and stayed overnight, which is a violation of monastic rules. He stated that his motive for going public was to protect the reputation of the Buddhist clergy. However, many locals accused him of trying to tarnish the monk’s name and damage the religion’s image.
According to Satsawat, the woman has a foreign husband who spends most of his time abroad. During his absence, the monk allegedly visited the woman and stayed at her home for extended periods.
The woman’s aunt, in an interview with Channel 8, angrily denied any romantic involvement between her niece and the monk. She maintained that they had never been alone together in the house, as a housemaid also lived there. She further insisted that the monk had never stayed overnight.
Channel 8 later interviewed the accused monk, Apichart, who denied all allegations. He explained that the woman was his adoptive sister. He admitted to visiting her but stated it was purely as a family member, not as a romantic partner.
Apichart claimed that Satsawat had fabricated the story out of resentment, as the two had previously operated a business together, which had since collapsed.
According to the monk, Satsawat lost his income when the business failed and subsequently grew angry at his sister. He added that she had already filed a counter-complaint against Satsawat.
Apichart urged the public to approach news reports with critical judgment. While he acknowledged that there had been several reports of monks behaving inappropriately, he insisted he was not one of them. He challenged Satsawat, or anyone else with concrete evidence of wrongdoing, to come forward.
Coincidentally, a similar case was reported around the same time in Nakhon Si Thammarat. In that instance, an abbot left the monkhood after admitting to having an affair with a married woman. However, he maintained that he had not used any of the temple’s funds to support the relationship.
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