A monk claiming to have magic powers has been arrested in Maha Sarakham province on fraud charges.
Wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Phon Provincial Court, Pichit Namkhot, or Phra Wichit Wisuttho, 50, was apprehended in front of the Song Puai monastic centre he heads in tambon Yang of Borabue district on Tuesday.
The arrest followed a complaint that Phra Wichit, locally known as Phra Darkie, had claimed he could perform religious incantations to transform stones into lek lai, a highly sought metal amulet, said Pol Lt Col Torsak Panklinput, investigator at the Crime Suppression Division's sub-division 2.
Phra Wichit, who used to be a monk at Wat Pa Kudrang in Maha Sarakham before moving to head the monastic centre, allegedly had swindled many people who bought the amulets to worship. Those people later discovered the charms had no miraculous characteristics as claimed. However, most victims dared not file complaints against him.
The CSD began looking into the case and coordinated with Phon district police in Khon Kaen to track down the monk. He had used money from his victims to buy three cars for personal use, alleged Pol Lt Col Torsak.
During the arrest, Phra Wichit agreed to leave the monkhood to fight the charges.
He insisted he had not swindled anyone while serving as a monk. However, he admitted that he was a grafter in 2007 as a layman. He entered the monkhood in 2009.
The CSD investigative team charged him with fraud before handing him over to Phon police station to face prosecutation.