A woman is alleged to have lured Buddhist monks into having sex with her before blackmailing them to cover it up. Wilawan Emsawat, 35, was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province north of Thailand‘s capital Bangkok on charges including extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods.
Detectives said they traced money transferred to Wilawan by a senior monk from a bank account belonging to his temple in northern Thailand. Police said around £8.82million (385 million baht) has been deposited into accounts in Wilawan’s name over the past three years and most of the money was spent on online gambling websites.
Wilawan hasn’t made a public statement since her arrest and it is unclear if she has legal representation. Speaking to Thai media before her arrest, she acknowledged one relationship and said that she had given money to that monk.
The possible violation of monks’ strict celibacy rule has rocked Buddhist institutions and gripped the public in Thailand over recent weeks.
At least nine abbots and senior monks involved in the scandal have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood, according to the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau.
Scandals involving monks surface a few times a year in Thailand, but they usually don’t involve senior members of the clergy.
The current case shines a spotlight on the vast sums of money donated to temples controlled by abbots, which is in marked contrast to the abstemious lives they are meant to lead under the rules of their religion.
Police have accused Wilawan of deliberately targeting senior monks for financial gain.
They found several monks had transferred large amounts of money after Wilawan began romantic relationships with them.
Jaroonkiat Pankaew, a Central Investigation Bureau deputy commissioner, said the investigation was launched in June after an abbot at a temple in Bangkok abruptly left the monkhood.
Phra Thep Wachirapamok reportedly fled across the border to Laos. He was a highly regarded abbot at Bangkok’s Wat Tri Thotsathep Worawihan temple.
Detectives found the abbot had allegedly been blackmailed by Wilawan over their romantic relationship.
She has been accused of telling the monk she was pregnant and asking him to pay £165,000 (7.2 million baht).
Jaroonkiat said police believed Wilawan is “dangerous” and they needed to arrest her as soon as possible.
Thai media reported a search of her mobile phones revealed tens of thousands of photos and videos as well as chat logs indicating intimacy with several monks, many of which could potentially have been used for blackmail.
Monks in Thailand are largely members of the Theravada sect, which requires them to be celibate and refrain from even touching a woman.
Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai ordered authorities to review and consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples.
Government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said officials have been tasked to investigate transparency around temple finances in a bid to restore faith in Buddhism.
Jaroonkiat said Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau has set up a Facebook page for people to report monks who misbehave.
He said: “We will investigate monks across the country. I believe that the ripple effects of this investigation will lead to a lot of changes.”