A monk who drew fire yesterday for involving himself in an altercation with a woman is insisting that his temple’s female cook employed the video clip as a means for taking revenge on him.
As Coconuts Bangkok reported yesterday, the 45-second film captured a moment when Phra Kru Sophon Samanakhun, the abbot of Wat Bot Muang in Chantaburi, aggressively hit and slapped Ladda – the temple’s cook.
The clip has circulated around the Thai online community and drawn uproar from some commenters who considered Phra Kru Sophon’s manner inappropriate and contradictory to Buddhist monastic principles. Some netizens even called for Phra Kru Sophon to be expelled from monkhood.
After the clip had gone viral, the Ecclesiastical District Officer summoned Phra Kru Sophon for questioning. He admitted to assaulting Ladda but insisted that he was only defending himself. Phra Kru Sophon said that Ladda, whom he had fired from the temple because of her hot temper and ill manner, became furious and attacked him by scratching and pinching his balls with her sharp fingernails. Following the fight, he had to receive four stitches to close the cuts.
The Ecclesiastical District Officer elected not to reprimand Phra Kru Sophon since there was concrete evidence and witnesses backing up his claim, Sanook News reported.
