Samut sakhon: Officials have conducted an inspection of the income and expenses of Wat Yai Chom Prasat, amid revelations that more than 1 million baht was transferred to Ms. K by the abbot who has since fled. This investigation aims to uncover details regarding the temple's financial operations and the abbot's actions.
According to Thai News Agency, Pol. Maj. Gen. Prasong Chalermphan, Commander of the Anti-Corruption Division, and Pol. Lt. Col. Siriphong Sritula, Assistant Secretary-General of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission, led a group to meet with key figures at Wat Yai Chom Prasat. These included Phra Khru Sakhon Sutthakit and other community leaders, as they gathered more information on the temple's financial management. The main focus was to trace the financial activities of Phra Maha Thiwakorn, the abbot who transferred over 1 million baht to Ms. K., with no evidence pointing to an affair.
Further investigation is needed to determine the source and purpose of the funds transferred to the laywoman. Key questions include identifying the temple's sources of income, its expenses, and the management of its accounts. The absence of a new temple treasurer, following the previous one's resignation for political pursuits, has left financial administration solely in the hands of the abbot.
The village headman highlighted that the temple earns approximately 20,000 baht per month from a boat parking lot and received about 1 million baht from last year's Kathin ceremony donations, along with 100,000 baht from the Mahachat sermon. However, contributions from donation boxes remain minimal due to low visitor numbers. The abbot, who also teaches Pali, earns around 15,000 baht monthly.
Junior monks at the temple outlined that the abbot is responsible for paying the water and electricity bills, totaling around 30,000 baht, as well as covering maintenance costs for religious structures and objects.