Rayongers might not have made much of seven monks doing their alms rounds last night, at least not until they demanded cash-only donations and shoveled sticky rice and chicken into their mouths.
Noticing their strange behavior – monks are supposed to fast after noon – police officers discovered that the robed holy men were, surprise surprise, just some regular guys looking for handouts.
The authorities swiftly arrested the fake monks – all of whom stand accused of shaving their heads and donning robes in various hues to scam people – and took them to the nearby Wat Krasae Bon.
There, Noppadon Natataro (actually a monk) searched the impostors’ bags and found most were not carrying certified monk credentials.
One of the men who did have monk papers, identified only as Vina, said he it off a real monk for THB5,000 (US$155). The faux ascetic admitted that he never ordained and only shaved his head and slipped on some yellow cloth for a convincing guise.
Their bags also contained two knives, fake amulets and cash collected from dupes. All of the not-monks will be prosecuted.
