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Saturday 18th March 2006
Fake Buddhist Monks Uncovered
On Saturday afternoon Pattaya police were called to an area on the eastern side of Pattaya where they had received reports from locals that two men were allegedly asking for alms and money while dressed in the traditional robes of Buddhist monks.
The police quickly located the men and asked to check their identification papers. All Buddhist monks, who spend more than a month or so at a temple, must be registered and have an ID card. Although both men were able to produce the necessary documents, police noted these were out of date.
The men, both from northern Thailand and both married, let their greed get the better of them. They were discovered when a kind citizen saw them walking along the road and offered them a lift to a nearby temple. The men asked their benefactor to stop prior to reaching the temple and when he gave them 500 baht he became suspicious when they said it wasn’t enough and asked for an extra 100 baht. The man contacted the police who then found the men.
The pair confessed to police that they were no longer practicing monks, but with more than 4,000 baht and two mobile phones on their person they felt life was pretty good posing as fake monks.
The men were remanded in custody and will face court.