Friday, 17 February 2017

Thai police fail to find monk in Dhammakaya temple raid

Thai police block Buddhist monks at the gate of Dhammakaya temple in Pathum Thani province, Thailand February 16, 2017.
The authorities have been in dispute with the temple for months
Thai police have failed to find an influential Buddhist leader, wanted for alleged money-laundering, after searching his sect's vast headquarters.

Police said they found medical equipment in rooms where they had expected to find the group's former abbot, 72-year-old Phra Dhammajayo.
Thousands of Buddhist devotees take part in evening prayers by candlelight to mark Makha Bucha Day at Wat Dhammakaya temple, just north of Bangkok, on February 11, 2017.
The temple is famous for its golden dome and tightly choreographed mass meditations
They say they will keep searching the Dhammakaya temple complex, under a 10-day search warrant.
Officers first entered the site, near Bangkok, on Thursday.
A woman trying to take her children to school is refused passage due to a police blockade in front of Wat Dhammakaya temple near Bangkok 16 February 2017
Police surrounded the site, blocking roads to and from the Dhammakaya temple
Previous attempts to search the complex were thwarted when thousands of the monk's devotees turned up in his defence.


The latest search is being carried out under an emergency law, after the temple for months failed to hand over Phra Dhammajayo, saying he was too ill to be questioned.

Phra Dhammajayo, who founded the temple, is accused of embezzling its funds. But when officers attempted to search the site last June they were blocked by his supporters.

The abbot appears not to have left the temple for months and has long denied the allegations, saying they are politically motivated.
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