Wat Doi Nang Lae - Phrao - Phra Nikorn Thammawathee

[DavidFL]

Wat Doi Nang Lae at Phrao was once a very active temple on account of the very charismatic monk - Phra Nikorn Thammawathee.
I met him a few times & there was no doubt about his charisma.

The temple

There were big plans for the temple

but unfortunately Phra Nikorn got tempted & was disrobed.

The story..
Phra Nikorn Thammawathee

The Nation (Thailand)
04-17-1998
THE Supreme Court yesterday sentenced former Buddhist monk Nikorn Yoskhamju to 22 months in jail for perjury and for lodging a false criminal complaint against the woman whose son he fathered while in the monkhood.

The court's decision upheld the earlier sentence handed down by the Court of Appeals in the case brought against Nikorn by Ornpaweena Butrkhunthong, the woman who accused him of having a sexual relationship with her when
he was the abbot of Sanpong Temple in Chiang Mai province in 1990.

Ornpaweena, who was pregnant at the time, lodged a complaint with the Religious Affairs Department in 1990, alleging Nikorn had lured her into having sex with him by falsely promising he would leave the monkhood to marry her. She said he had fathered the baby she was carrying.

Nikorn denied the allegations and claimed the woman and her family had tried to blackmail him by forcing him to stay at a house with the woman for several days. He was later thrown out of the monkhood after a DNA test proved he fathered Ornpaweena's son.

Before he was defrocked, Nikorn filed a criminal suit against Ornpaweena and her relatives, accusing them of libel, illegal detention and blackmail. The Criminal Court later dropped the case against the defendants citing lack of evidence.

Ornpaweena filed a counter suit against Nikorn with the Criminal Court in 1991, accusing him of lodging a false criminal complaint against her and perjury. Nikorn was found guilty of the charges by the Criminal Court and the Court of Appeals after which he lodged a final appeal with the Supreme Court.

The Nikorn-Ornpaweena sex scandal was a public sensation when the story broke and received intense coverage by the local media in 1990. The case also later led to similar wide publicity for sex scandals involving popular Buddhist monks, including the former Phra Yantra Ammarobhikku, who fled to the United States after being accused of having sexual relationships with several women while in the monkhood.

Although he was forced to leave the monkhood, Nikorn still continues his religious activities at a monastery in Chiang Mai and is respected by many followers.

Nikorn was yesterday transferred to the Bangkok Remand Prison after hearing the decision of the Supreme Court.

''No problem. It should be alright to live in jail for some time,'' he said to reporters.

Defrocked Nikorn may be jailed
The Nation (Thailand)
02-10-1998
EX-monk Nikorn Yoskhamju, who was defrocked eight years ago in a sex scandal and re-entered the monkhood last weekend, may face a document falsification charge following his alleged use of a fraudulent certificate, Criminal Court Chief Justice Pradit Ekmanee said Monday.

The judge said the freedom enjoyed by former Phra Nikorn Thammawathee after the Court of Appeals handed down a suspended 22-month prison sentence when it upheld a guilty verdict on false statement charges, may be revoked.

''We are just waiting for more evidence to prove that,'' he said.

Nikorn was defrocked in 1990 after it was found he had sex with follower Ornpaweena Butrkhunthong which resulted in a child -- an act which unconditionally bars him from being re-ordained.

The ruling upholds the Criminal Court verdict in the countersuit filed by Ornpaweena against Nikorn. Nikorn earlier filed a lawsuit accusing the woman of extorting Bt5 million from him. However, he eventually lost the case.

Pradit said he had seen the document and the forgery was well done.

Apart from the fraudulent document charge which carries a maximum jail term of five years, the former monk also faces two other criminal charges. The charges include lying about his qualifications for ordainment and for wearing a monk's robes without permission. Each charge carries a one-year jail term.

Deputy Education Minister Arkom Engchuan said Monday an inspection team from the Religious Affairs Department had left for Chiang Mai to look into the matter and would force Nikorn to stop wearing a monk's
robe if the charges proved true.

Asked if Nikhon's re-ordainment was successful because of a certificate issued by Phra Kitti Vuttho Bhikhu, Arkom declined to comment but said the Sangha Supreme Council, the monk regulatory body, would soon look into the matter.Phra Kitti Vuttho Bhikhu, the director of Jitthaphawan College in Chon Buri, was visited by many monks after the report concerning the certificate became known.
However, he turned down a request for an interview on the matter involving his certificate.

Some interesting history in view of the naughty 300 million baht monk from Si Sa ket.

The site of the old Wat Doi Nang Lae.

สำนักปฏิบัติธรรมกัมมัฏฐาน · C5GM+4FC, San Sai, Phrao District, Chiang Mai 50190, Thailand

★★★★★ · Place of worship

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[DavidFL]

I was recently sent a youtube link below which reminded me of this wat & similar stories.




Some other stories

Disgraced monk Wirapol has emptied B300m bank accounts

Defrocked monk Wirapol Sukphol has just three million baht in his 41 bank accounts, when there used to be about 300 million baht, Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) adviser Narong Rattananukul said on Tuesday.

www.bangkokpost.com

Monk's bank accounts suspicious, Amlo says

The controversial monk caught on tape riding in a private jetliner has numerous "financial irregularities," the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) revealed on Tuesday.

www.posttoday.com

Pilot lifts lid on monk's depravity

The hidden life of super luxury led by embattled monk Phra Wirapol Sukphol, better known as Luang Pu Nen Kham Chattiko, has been exposed by a pilot who used to find private jet rentals for the holy man.

www.bangkokpost.com

Money, monks just don't mix

Three months after the Nen Kham scandal erupted, the former jet-setting monk from Si Sa Ket is still a free man. Now defrocked and living life on the run, the fugitive Wirapol Sukphol, formerly Luang Pu Nen Kham of Wat Pah Khantidham is accused of fraud and abuse of temple donations that could...

www.bangkokpost.com

7 Buddhist monks accused of embezzling more than $5.3 million donated to temple in Thailand

BANGKOK (AP) — Seven Buddhist monks are among nine suspects who are being held in pretrial detention after being arrested for allegedly embezzling assets worth about 300 million baht ($8.9 million) from donations received by a temple in Thailand’s northeast, authorities said Thursday.

apnews.com

 

[DavidFL]

And another naughty monk - Winai La-ongsuwan, formerly known as Phra Yantra Amaro Bhikkhu- has now passed away.

The Facebook page of Sunyataram Temple in Escondido, California announced on Sunday afternoon, March 9, 2025, that former monk Yantra, or Mr. Winai La-ong Suwan, has passed away at the age of 73.
Yantra was once a highly renowned monk from Nakhon Si Thammarat who became extremely famous in Thailand. He was defrocked in 1994 after being exposed for luring multiple women into sexual relationships, even having a child with one woman. He fled to the United States where he continued to present himself as a monk and continued to enjoy a small but loyal followers.
Source: Khaosodenglish.com/life/2014/04/25/1398413866/

His story
Phra Yantra Amaro Bhikkhu (Winai La-ongsuwan) was a well-known Thai Buddhist monk who was expelled from the monastic order due to multiple allegations of misconduct. His case became one of the most controversial scandals in modern Thai Buddhism. Here are the key Buddhist offenses he was accused of:

1. Sexual Misconduct (Grave Violation of Monastic Precepts)
Phra Yantra was accused of violating the Vinaya (monastic code) by engaging in sexual relations with women. Several women came forward with claims that he had sexual encounters with them, which directly violates the celibacy rule (Brahmacharya) that all Buddhist monks must strictly follow.

2. False Speech and Defamation
He was accused of making false statements and defaming the Supreme Patriarch of Thailand, as well as other senior monks. His statements led to disputes within the Thai Buddhist monastic community.

3. Refusal to Accept the Sangha’s Ruling
When the Thai Sangha Supreme Council investigated the allegations, they found him guilty and officially expelled him from the monkhood in 1994. However, Phra Yantra refused to accept the ruling and continued to wear monastic robes, which further deepened the controversy.

4. Illegal Use of Monk Robes After Being Defrocked
After his expulsion, he continued to dress in monastic robes and present himself as a monk, despite no longer being recognized by the Thai Buddhist authorities. This led to accusations of deceiving the public and disrespecting the Sangha's authority.

5. Escaping to Avoid Prosecution
After facing expulsion, he fled Thailand and lived in the United States for years. This further fueled the controversy, as many saw it as an attempt to escape justice.

Despite these accusations, Phra Yantra maintained that he was innocent and continued to have a group of followers who supported him even after his official removal from the monkhood. His case remains one of the most widely discussed scandals in Thai Buddhist history.