A Medical Council of Thailand (TMC) subcommittee has agreed to send a medical team to check the physical condition of Wat Dhammakaya abbot Phra Dhammajayo by the end of next week.
TMC president Somsak Lolekha Thursday said the team will verify the abbot's ailments at the temple. The move was subject to approval by a council committee on June 9.
Earlier, the medical team caring for Phra Dhammajayo called on the TMC to send its doctors to check the abbot amid doubts about whether he was really too ill to acknowledge criminal charges as he claims.
Repairmen check the Maha Dhammakaya Chedi in Wat Dhammakaya in Pathum Thani to conduct maintenance. Phra Dhammajayo, the abbot, is wanted on fraud charges but has failed to turn himself in. Pattanapong Hirunard
The abbot, the only leader the sect ever has had, has repeatedly failed to meet officials at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to acknowledge embezzlement charges, citing illness.
Dr Somsak, however, said the council must receive a letter of consent from Phra Dhammajayo before sending its team as the request was conveyed his medical personnel.
"If the abbot does not allow our team to check his ailments or disclose his illness, the council will not send the team," he said.
The team will comprise two TMC members and five others handpicked from the Royal Colleges of Physicians of Thailand, the Royal College of Surgeons of Thailand and the Royal College of Radiologists of Thailand. The TMC will select doctors with expertise in cardiovascular and lung diseases including haematology, Dr Somsak said.
Also on Thursday, Maj Gen Chawalit Pongpitak, commander of the 16th Military Circle in Ratchaburi, said Fort Phanurangsi Hospital deputy director Siripong Pattanapisut has been found guilty of disciplinary misconduct for issuing medical certificates to Phra Dhammajayo.
However, he said action has yet to be brought against Dr Siripong as they had to wait for another probe result from the DSI and the TMC.
According to Maj Gen Chawalit, Dr Siripong's offending comprises two counts. The first concerned details of the abbot's ailments in the medical certificates which were now being probed by the DSI and the TMC. He also issued certificates on behalf of the hospital by using an official hospital form despite the fact the hospital had not provided treatment for the abbot or had his records.
Maj Gen Chawalit said the doctor's actions were regarded as misconduct. He was suspended pending the investigation.