Something rotten at the heart of Thai Buddhism
A financial scandal involving nuns at a meditation center is the latest corruption case to rock Buddhist Thailand
Updated: April 29, 2021 04:07 AM GMT
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A file photo of Buddhist nuns attending a meeting in Thailand. Clergymen and clergywomen are generally accorded reverential respect by Thai Buddhists. (Photo: YouTube)
Three Buddhist nuns have been arrested and charged with defrauding several hundred Thais by help of a pyramid scheme-like investment scam conducted at a meditation center near Bangkok.
The nuns were caught after some 400 people had complained to police that the Buddhist clergywomen had encouraged them to invest in a scheme promising high returns but failed to deliver on the promised windfalls.
Temple corruption erodes public faith
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published : 28 Apr 2021 at 04:00
11 Senior monks from Wat Saket are summoned in 2018 to hear charges in connection with the temple fund embezzlement cases. Subsequently, five monks were disrobed and several given suspended jail terms. Bangkok Post photo
As corruption soars in predominantly Buddhist Thailand, its temples are also facing a serious erosion of public faith due to rife corruption in the closed, non-transparent clergy.
Thailand s latest ranking in Transparency International s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) in 2020 continues to sink despite the government s promise to get tough on corruption.
Last year, Thailand miserably failed the test again, scoring only 30 out of 100. Of the 180 countries surveyed, Thailand ranked 104th, falling three places from 2019.