A revered abbot who once helped AIDS patients is now at the center of Thailand's latest monastic scandal.
He is accused of orchestrating a massive fraud involving donations potentially worth tens of billions of baht.
This is a new blow for Thai Buddhism, already weakened by numerous cases of morality and embezzlement.
See: Monk sex scandal: Thailand tries to restore faith
From hero to suspect
On August 26, 2025, police investigators persuaded Luang Pho Alongkot to remove his religious robes in order to defend himself against the accusations, which he denies.
This time, it is Luang Pho Alongkot, a priest long celebrated for his commitment to AIDS patients, who finds himself accused of colossal fraud.
The former abbot of Wat Phra Baht Nam Phu in Lopburi province gained a reputation in 1992 by opening the temple as a refuge for HIV/AIDS patients at the start of the epidemic in Thailand.
At a time when discrimination was rampant and treatment limited, his temple became a shrine that attracted national media attention and massive donations.
But on August 26, 2025, this 32-year journey came to a dramatic end.
Alongkot was defrocked and accused of money laundering alongside the famous medium "Doctor Bee" (Seksan Sapsuksakul).
Both remain in custody awaiting a decision on their bail.
An elaborate staging to deceive donors
Luang Pho Alongkot receives alms with Dr. Bee sitting beside him at the Chaeng Watthana government complex on February 20, 2019.
Police Colonel Charoenkiat Pankaew, who is leading the investigation, calls the scheme "Alongkot the Drama," an elaborate set-up designed to deceive donors.
"While the temple truly helped patients at first, with the advent of AIDS treatments and the drop in medical costs, donations paradoxically increased," he explains.
“Patient care was virtually no longer needed, yet every appeal for donations claimed to help patients.”
Investigators believe the network operated like a business, with leaders systematically collecting and managing funds through multiple channels.
The damage could reach tens of billions of baht over several years.
A life built on lies
The newly defrocked monk Alongkot with police at the Central Investigation Bureau in Bangkok, Thailand, on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. Photo: Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) Police
The monk's real name was Kriangkrai Phetkaew, but he had assumed the full identity of a deceased classmate, Alongkot Polmuk, using not only his friend's name but also that of his parents to open bank accounts in the name of the foundation.
See also about identity theft in Thailand: Shock in Thailand, a female social media star was actually a man
His impressive credentials were entirely fabricated: he was not a graduate of the prestigious Debsirin School, nor of Kasetsart University, nor did he hold a master's degree in engineering from Australia.
He admitted to never completing his professional studies and fleeing military service to seek refuge in Malaysia before returning to be ordained as a monk, originally planning to wear the robe only temporarily.
Luang Pho Alongkot served as abbot of Wat Phra Baht Nam Phu in Lopburi province for 32 years, inventing much of his personal history.
The role of the medium
Monk Luang Pho Alongkot with Doctor Bee, medium.
The fall began with "Doctor Bee," who exploited the temple's reputation to raise funds for his own benefit.
Temple insiders began to grow suspicious when cash donations mysteriously disappeared, coinciding with the construction of a lavish new home by Doctor Bee.
This inside information led to a major investigation that spanned approximately 30 members of the network working with the former monk.
Systematic chaos
Phra Baht Nam Phu Buddhist temple. Photo: Swabhava Wordpress
The National Anti-Corruption Commission found no proper financial management system, despite funds being easily obtained.
Temple officials could not account for the number of bank accounts or explain how the money was used to buy insurance or set up companies.
A former patient made withdrawals exceeding 300 million baht in five years.
Someone easily got 100 million baht from the monk to buy a helicopter.
Current consequences
The scandal affects 120 people who still live at the temple, including 60 terminally ill patients requiring full-time care.
At the same time, the case gave rise to systematic reforms:
- The Ministry of Revenue will require electronic donation systems (e-Donation) for tax deductions starting January 2026.
- Traditional handwritten certificates of merit will no longer be valid for tax purposes.
- The organizations revoked the awards previously granted to Alongkot.
- Education authorities have removed passages praising him from fifth-grade textbooks.
A broader vision
Entrance to the Phra Baht Nam Phu Buddhist temple. Photo: Swabhava Wordpress
This case represents more than just an instance of individual corruption: it highlights the weaknesses of Thailand's temple donation system and the ease with which public compassion can be exploited.
As the investigation continues, authorities hope to set an example to deter similar schemes from being carried out in Thailand's thousands of temples.
This man, once celebrated as the savior of AIDS patients, is now a stark example of the dark potential that lurks behind sacred robes and charitable facades.
See also:
Thailand: Woman who seduced and blackmailed monks arrested
Thailand sex scandal: Woman framed influential monks
Thailand: 3 monks punished after their trip to Pattaya's red-light district
Drug-addicted, armed monk arrested after spreading terror in Thailand
Thailand: Pedophile monk rapes children with impunity
Source: Khaosod English
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6 comments
Religions: a well-oiled business plan
Whether we're talking about Catholicism, Islam, or even Buddhism, the logic is often the same: money circulates, and lots of it!
Behind the spiritual discourse hides an organization that operates like a real business.
The faithful give, the institutions collect, and where there are large sums, covetousness is never far away.
The financial scandals that regularly erupt in various religions are proof of this: money attracts profiteers, and disputes over the sharing of profits are never far away.
In Thailand, the paradox is striking.
For years, certain abuses have been tolerated, ignored, as if no one wanted to see.
Then, suddenly, cases come to light: monks are discovered caught up in corruption or fraud scandals, after decades of silence.
Temples, which should above all be places of meditation and contemplation, sometimes display their donation boxes as a priority, clearly visible.
Religion, which is supposed to guide souls, then becomes a market.
And when spirituality turns into commerce, it is the faith of the faithful that is ultimately betrayed.
Nothing more to say, Gaspard, you have summed up very well the situation and the status of certain Thai Buddhist monks...
All that remains is to unfurl large advertising banners at the entrance to certain temples run by this category of "capitalist" monks: "DO YOU WANT TO BECOME RICH? BECOME A MONK HERE"!!!
A long time ago, I took the initiative to go and see this famous temple and I discovered with amazement a veritable human circus which staged the agony of poor unfortunates suffering from AIDS to collect money.
There were buses arriving with crowds of curious people who came to be frightened by the death of all these dying people.
The visit ended with the obligatory visit to pay one's contribution.
No monks to accompany all these dying people who were finishing their last days photographed by curious onlookers who had little regard for human suffering.
I thought I was discovering a place of kindness and solidarity, but it was a real shock to see all this staging of human suffering and misery to make money.
It took more than 20 years (if not 30 years) for this filthy human circus to be denounced by the media.
A monk too, he calls himself a Buddhist, but hey, he doesn't seem too worried, he's smiling, he's in good spirits.
That's Thailand too, like the other day I saw a person who lost his whole house, but he saved his TV and he also had a big smile, so the TV must be more important than the house.
Religion(s), the opium of the people > who said that?
Finally, it is mainly that it is diverted, finally the money is sometimes diverted from him.
And the religious wars?
I who believed in all that????.
And that one day I will even go there to make a donation, because around me I have lost loved ones to this disease, but what a show, I find it god that some people use a religion and people's misery to enrich themselves.
Let them go to hell.