Police have arrested a man in Phuket Town who was impersonating a monk in an effort to solicit donations from the public.
The Phuket Volunteer Defense Corps (PVDC) was informed Friday morning that a man dressed as a monk was walking around the Phuket fresh market collecting money from people.
Jiradet Burarak, deputy of the PVDC, together with officers from Phuket Provincial Office of Buddhism and the Phuket Police, went to the market to apprehend the man after a tip-off from Phra Kru Metta Pirom, the abbot of Wat Mongkol Nimit in Phuket Town.
The suspect refused to tell officers his name or show a monk’s certificate and was subsequently arrested. A search of his bag revealed Buddhist amulets and several B20 banknotes worth approximately THB1000.
Officers confirmed that the man, whom they did not name, was not a monk and had previously been arrested several times for the same offense. He is now facing charges of impersonating a monk.
Story: The Phuket News
