27 Cambodians Charged with being Fake Monks at Thai Monastery

[CEOCambodiaNews]

Cambodians accused of pretending to be monks at Thai temple
Police charge 27 Cambodians with illegal entry after ordering them to remove Buddhist robes
UCA News reporter, Bangkok
Updated: February 01, 2021 06:31 AM GMT

Thai immigration police have arrested more than two dozen Cambodian migrants at a Buddhist temple where they had allegedly been pretending to be monks to avoid being caught and deported.

The 27 Cambodian nationals entered Thailand illegally and joined the Wat Talom monastery in Bangkok while disguising themselves as Buddhist monks, according to authorities.

“We received a tip-off that the temple had several hundred monks living in a crowded space that could become a hotspot for Covid-19,” said Lt. Gen. Sompong Chingduang, chief of the immigration police.

“People also reported that some monks from this temple were selling food they received from the public in the morning to merchants at nearby markets for reselling.”

The monastery’s abbot was questioned by police after it was found that the monks’ living quarters at the temple had been divided into two separate areas with local monks staying upstairs and the foreigners staying downstairs. Some of the migrants bedded down in space under the temple’s crematorium.

In all, there were more than 200 foreigners who were staying at the temple from various nations.

“Officers found that 181 migrant monks from Myanmar, India, Cambodia, Laos and Bangladesh had proper documentation, but the 27 [Cambodians] had neither entry papers nor ID cards stating they are monks,” Sompong said.

The men were ordered to take off their robes before they were detained and charged with illegal entry. They are also facing charges of impersonating Buddhist monks, which is a crime in Thailand.

The temple’s abbot is facing the prospect of charges over providing shelter to migrants staying illegally in Thailand.
https://www.ucanews.com/news/cambodians ... mple/91221#