The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is asking the deputy abbot of Wat Dhammakaya to help investigators meet embattled abbot Phra Dhammajayo -- the latest move in a series of efforts to arrest the abbot and press criminal charges against him.
National Buddhism Office (NOB) director Panom Sornsilp said Sunday the DSI will meet deputy abbot Phra Thattacheevo to ask him to act as a go-between for DSI investigators and the abbot.
Mr Panom said the DSI has also asked Phra Theprattanasuthi, the Pathum Thai chief monk, to liaise between investigators and the abbot of Phra Dhammakaya. The provincial chief monk has pledged to cooperate, Mr Panom said.
Also on Sunday, NOB deputy director Chayapol Pongsida said the office has also forwarded the DSI's request for help to Phra Phrommolee, who is the chief secretary of the acting supreme patriarch Somdet Phra Maha Ratchamangalacharn, also known as Somdet Chuang.
DSI chief Paisit Wongmuang said the DSI is seeking a helping hand from the Sangha governing bodies.
"Appropriate timing is necessary," he said.
While officers tried to work a deal to arrest Dhammakaya leader Phra Dhammachayo, monks were spotted keeping the sect's huge temple compound under surveillance from a bridge, while DSI "field agents" watched the temple from a field beside the compound. (Photos by Apichit Jinakul)
Dhammakaya sect followers barricaded the 16 entrances to the massive compound but allowed friendly visitors to enter.
A DSI source said the agency wanted to inform the clergy in writing that Phra Dhammajayo is now wanted on an arrest warrant and the DSI wanted to ask monks who have governing roles in the monastic hierarchy to follow the law and cooperate with the DSI. Failure to do so would be regarded as dereliction of duty, the source said.
As the stand-off between the DSI and the abbot escalated, followers have barricaded temple entrances to block DSI officials from trying to arrest the monk. Reports were also emerging of a build-up of followers at the temple. In response, the DSI has sent in a drone to inspect the temple and work out a plan to raid the premises.
Phra Dhammajayo is wanted on an arrest warrant approved by the Criminal Court on charges of laundering money and receiving stolen property worth 1.2 billion baht in connection with the 12-billion-baht Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement case.
Medical Council of Thailand (MCT) president Somsak Lolekha said the council will on Thursday discuss a request by the abbot's followers to send experts to examine his health.
Dr Somsak said the MCT will ask representatives of the Royal College of Physicians of Thailand to join in the examination. This is intended to ensure transparency and impartiality, he said.
Last Thursday, doctors providing treatment for Phra Dhammajayo submitted the request to the MCT. Medical certificates attesting to the 72-year-old monk's illness and his medical records were delivered.
The move comes amid doubts about the health condition of Phra Dhammajayo, who cited his ailments as a reason he was unable to meet officials at the DSI to acknowledge the charges.
Lt Gen Chumpol Piamsomboon, chief of the army's Medical Department, yesterday revealed the 16th Military Circle in Ratchaburi has finished a disciplinary probe against Lt Col Siripong Pattanatanawisut, deputy director of the army's Fort Phanurangsri Hospital in Ratchaburi.
The deputy director was being investigated for disciplinary violations after he visited the abbot at the temple, examined him and issued a certificate confirming the authenticity of his illnesses. Since he examined the abbot in a private capacity he had no right to issue the paper in the hospital's name, a source said.
The Wat Phra Dhammakaya compound in Tambon Khlong Sam, Klong Luang district of Pathum Thani is a formidable target for a police raid. It has three main buildings, countless out-buildings, and occupies an area of approximately 2,400 rai or 930 acres. (Google Maps and online graphics)
