Thai monk sex scandal leaves devout questioning faith: ‘I don't have full respect for it'
Thai police this week arrested a woman accused of bedding at least 11 monks in violation of their vows of celibacy, before blackmailing them with thousands of secretly taken photos of their trysts.
The monks are said to have paid nearly US$12 million, funnelled out of their monasteries funded by donations from laypeople hoping to increase their merit and prospects for reincarnation.
The scandal provoked outrage over hypocrisy in the monkhood, concern their status shields them from scrutiny, and soul-searching across society about the role of religion.
'I'm not involved in the religion like I used to be,' 33-year-old motorbike taxi driver Mongkol Sudathip said. 'I don't have full respect for it any more.' King Maha Vajiralongkorn has cancelled invitations to more than 80 monks who had been due to attend his coming 73rd birthday celebrations, citing 'inappropriate behaviour that caused mental distress among the Thai people'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
22 minutes ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong 47: third batch of opposition activists freed after 4 years in prison
Three more activists among the 47 Hong Kong opposition figures charged in the city's largest national security case for conspiracy to commit subversion have been released from prison. Former union leader Carol Ng Man-yee, and activists Nathan Lau Chak-fung and Frankie Fung Tak-chun were the third batch of defendants in the landmark case to complete their four-year-and-five-month sentences. The trio, who pleaded guilty, were separately sent to their residences in vans from the Lo Wu Correctional Institution and Stanley Prison on Monday morning. Asked about his feelings, Lau put on a smile and shook his head while walking towards his block. Nathan Lau was freed from prison after completing his sentence under the national security law. Photo: Handout Lau, 28, was the president of the student union at Hong Kong Shue Yan University and a standing committee member of the Hong Kong Federation of Students. Ng, now 54, was a flight attendant at British Airways. She founded the BA Hong Kong International Cabin Crew Association and had mounted several legal challenges against the employer over wages, anti-union practices, age and sex discrimination.
South China Morning Post
15 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Head of China's world-famous Buddhist sanctuary Shaolin Temple under criminal investigation
The abbot of China's famous Shaolin Temple is under investigation for criminal offences, embezzling project funds and temple assets, according to a statement released on the website of the Buddhist sanctuary on Sunday. Shi Yongxin, head of what is one of the most famous Buddhist monasteries in the world, is suspected of seriously violating Buddhist precepts and is currently under joint investigation by multiple departments, the statement added. More to follow... Advertisement
South China Morning Post
15 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong slams Western countries over criticism of bounties for second straight day
The Hong Kong government has hit out at 'irresponsible remarks' by Western countries for the second straight day following its decision to pursue overseas-based activists for alleged national security violations related to a group called 'Hong Kong Parliament'. Advertisement Authorities said on Sunday that they strongly opposed and disapproved of 'smears with distorted facts' that had been communicated by officials and politicians from countries such as the US, Canada and Australia, as well as 'anti-China organisations'. 'Not only did such foreign government officials and politicians, as well as anti-China organisations, turn a blind eye to illegal acts of criminals, but also deliberately smeared and spread irresponsible remarks, in an attempt to mislead the public, about the measures and actions taken by the [Hong Kong government] in accordance with the law,' the government said. The statement followed a similar one issued a day earlier, which had slammed remarks made by UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who had described the latest round of bounties as 'transnational repression'. Western governments and politicians have been voicing their criticism since the city's decision on Friday to place bounties on 15 activists and issue new arrest warrants for four more over their involvement in the 'Hong Kong Parliament', a group deemed subversive by authorities. Advertisement US Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemned the latest round of warrants issued for activists, including those based in his country, saying Washington would not tolerate 'transnational repression on US soil'. In Canada, Minister of Foreign Affairs Anita Anand and Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree said in a joint statement that actions taken by Hong Kong 'threaten the sovereignty of Canada and security of the people in this country'.
