Abbot Denies Three-Woman Affair, Plans to Disrobe on Lent End
The abbot of a temple in Buriram’s Prasat subdistrict denied accusations of relationships with three women, saying his only contact with the accuser was flirtatious Facebook chats and that he is dating just one woman. He announced he will disrobe on the end of Buddhist Lent to ease villagers’ concerns after an audio clip surfaced of the woman confronting him while intoxicated. Authorities investigated the claim, and the abbot stated his online exchanges did not warrant expulsion but chose to leave the monkhood to protect the community and the sangha’s reputation.
On October 19, 2026, officials including the provincial Buddhist affairs director, the district monk chief, district administrative officers, and community leaders visited the site to investigate the incident. They invited the 49-year-old abbot to the district office for questioning, which lasted nearly two hours in a tense atmosphere. The abbot said the woman was drunk when she entered his quarters and shouted at him; he admitted they had exchanged flirtatious messages on Facebook but insisted there was no sexual relationship or deep intimacy. He denied rumors that he was seeing three women simultaneously, stating he is involved with only one woman. The abbot added, through tears, that his Facebook conversations with the woman did not reach the level requiring expulsion from the monkhood under monastic code, but to preserve the peace of his followers, relatives, and the reputation of the sangha, he has decided to relinquish his robes on October 26, 2026, the day marking the end of Buddhist Lent. The allegations and details from the audio clip remain under review by the monastic council and relevant agencies.
