Man arrested for posing as monk in 1.8 million baht scam
Suspect evaded capture for more than a decade
Police from the Crime Suppression Division have arrested a man accused of impersonating the abbot of well-known temples to open fraudulent bank accounts used to siphon funds, causing losses of more than 1.8 million baht.
The arrest was made on December 27 under the direction of Police Major General Pattanasak Buphasuwan, with officers led by Police Colonel Thanawat Hinyokhin, Police Lieutenant Colonel Kitibadin Kimsea, and Police Captain Chanakan Burabhaga. The suspect, Manop, 54, was taken into custody in Moo 1, Thung Krapang Hom subdistrict, Kamphaeng Saen district, Nakhon Pathom province.
Manop was wanted under a Criminal Court arrest warrant (No. 1472/2019, dated September 24, 2019).
Investigators said the case began after a bank alerted police to suspicious transactions linked to monks’ accounts. A criminal gang allegedly recruited Manop to shave his head and eyebrows, wear monk’s robes, and impersonate abbots at temples in Nakhon Pathom and Suphan Buri provinces.
The group targeted abbots with large savings, ranging from hundreds of thousands to several million baht. Manop was photographed to create fake monk identification documents, which were then used to open new bank accounts by falsely claiming the original passbooks had been lost. Once the accounts were opened, funds from the real monks’ accounts were transferred into the newly created accounts and quickly withdrawn, emptying the balances.
Police said the total damage exceeded 1.8 million baht.
During questioning, Manop admitted his role, saying he was in financial trouble at the time due to a failing water filter business. He said two accomplices persuaded him to pose as a monk in exchange for 20,000 baht.
Authorities said Manop managed to evade arrest for more than a decade by living in hiding and taking on various jobs. He now faces charges including fraud, forgery and use of forged documents, theft, and unauthorised use of another person’s electronic card and computer system to input false information causing public harm.
In a separate recent case, police in Ang Thong arrested another man for impersonating a Buddhist monk while soliciting donations under the influence of drugs. The suspect was unable to prove his monk status or perform basic chants and was found carrying donation envelopes and cash, underscoring ongoing concerns about criminals exploiting religious trust.
The latest case has been handed over to Crime Suppression Division Sub-division 5 for further legal proceedings.
