BANGKOK (BN24) — Thai police have arrested a woman accused of luring senior Buddhist monks into sexual relationships and extorting large sums of money to keep the affairs secret, a scandal that has shaken Thailand’s Buddhist institutions and fueled public outrage.
Wilawan Emsawat, reportedly in her mid-30s, was taken into custody Tuesday at her home in Nonthaburi province, just north of Bangkok. Authorities charged her with extortion, money laundering, and receiving stolen goods. Investigators said they discovered she had received money from a senior monk who diverted temple funds from a monastery in northern Thailand.
The scandal has already led to the downfall of at least nine abbots and senior monks, all of whom have been disrobed and expelled from the monkhood, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said. Police allege Wilawan deliberately targeted prominent monks to profit from their vows of celibacy.
“This woman is dangerous and we needed to arrest her as soon as possible,” Deputy Commissioner Jaroonkiat Pankaew told reporters Tuesday. He said the investigation began last month when an abbot at a well-known Bangkok temple abruptly left the monkhood under suspicious circumstances. Investigators later determined the abbot had been blackmailed after Wilawan claimed she was pregnant and demanded 7.2 million baht ($222,000) in “financial assistance.”
Police said they traced 385 million baht ($11.9 million) that flowed through Wilawan’s bank accounts over the past three years, much of it spent on online gambling. They also seized her mobile phones, which reportedly contained tens of thousands of photos and videos and chat logs showing intimate exchanges with several monks.
Before her arrest, Wilawan acknowledged to local media that she had been involved in at least one relationship and claimed she had given money to the monk. She has not issued any statement since being detained, and it was unclear if she had retained legal representation.
Scandals involving monks surface periodically in Thailand, but this case is unusual for its scale and for implicating high-ranking clergy. Under Theravada Buddhist rules, monks are required to remain celibate and are forbidden even to touch a woman.
Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has ordered a review of regulations governing temples and monks, particularly financial transparency, to help restore public confidence. “We must look carefully at the laws and consider strengthening them,” government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said Tuesday.
The Central Investigation Bureau has also created an online reporting system to allow the public to file complaints about monks suspected of misconduct. “I believe the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes,” Jaroonkiat said.
