A Buddhist monk in southern Thailand has been defrocked after allegedly being filmed having sex with a female devotee.
The monk is accused of luring the middle-aged woman to the temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat by reading Buddhist scriptures to her.
Local residents reportedly installed hidden CCTV cameras after growing frustrated with allegations that he regularly had sexual encounters with women.
The footage allegedly shows the monk approaching the woman from behind as she removes her clothes and bends over a chair, apparently unaware that a camera was positioned only inches away.
The encounter reportedly ended abruptly on October 20 when the pair noticed someone approaching.
The woman then pulled up her trousers and appeared to carry on as if nothing had happened.
However, residents had captured the alleged encounter on camera and complained to Buddhist authorities. The monk was subsequently expelled from the religious order.
One devotee, Kittisak, said: ‘The monks live comfortably because their needs are supported by donations from the public.
The footage allegedly shows the monk behind the woman during the clandestine encounter
He was later defrocked after angry residents secretly installed cameras to document the alleged encounter
‘They are meant to use that support to lead virtuous lives and serve as examples to others.
‘Instead, he was allegedly violating one of the most important rules of Buddhist monastic life.’
Villagers said the monk had allegedly engaged in repeated sexual encounters outdoors. His conduct was reportedly an open secret, but residents claimed he had threatened people who confronted him.
Eventually, however, locals managed to record the alleged behaviour.
Separate photographs also reportedly surfaced, allegedly showing the monk touching the woman’s breasts.
Residents said the monk had moved onto the grounds of Wat Wihan Ngam temple under the stated purpose of helping restore the site.
District chief Kittipong Rongdech and local Buddhist officials later located the monk and initiated proceedings to remove him from the order.
When confronted with the footage, he reportedly confirmed his identity.
The woman is seen lying on the floor in another image. The case comes amid a series of sex scandals involving Thailand’s Buddhist clergy
He was taken to the ecclesiastical authority in Chian Yai district, where his robes were removed and he changed into civilian clothing.
A senior monk said the alleged conduct amounted to a ‘Parajika’ offence, one of the gravest breaches of Buddhist monastic law, and meant the monk immediately lost his status.
The senior cleric said that even penetration ‘by the breadth of a finger’ would permanently disqualify someone from being ordained again.
The allegations have also prompted demands for an investigation into donations given to the temple.
Devotees are calling for the errant monk to be replaced by a new abbot known for exemplary conduct.
Buddhism is Thailand’s dominant religion, with around 90 per cent of the population identifying as Theravada Buddhists.
Monks vow to remain celibate and renounce worldly desires, which are regarded as barriers to spiritual enlightenment.
They are also prohibited from being alone with women.
Despite those rules, Thailand’s Buddhist clergy have faced repeated sex scandals, contributing to a broader decline in public confidence in religious institutions.
In September, the clergy was rocked by another case after a senior monk was allegedly caught having sex with a woman on CCTV.
Phra Wachirayan Wi, the 66-year-old abbot of Wat Phutthaisawan, a 14th-century temple in the former capital of Ayutthaya, was also accused of embezzling £2million intended for the monastery.
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The latest case is the newest controversy to affect the Buddhist-majority country. Last year, a sex and extortion scandal involving senior monks triggered public anger and calls for tighter oversight of temple finances.
Video allegedly showing Phra Wachirayan having sex on a table inside his residence was widely broadcast by Thai media, sending shockwaves across the country.
Thai Buddhist monks are expected to observe celibacy and reject material possessions.
Nevertheless, religious figures have repeatedly been linked to sex and drug scandals, ranging from the discovery of pornography, sex toys and a penis pump to an alleged £9million extortion operation.
Some members of the clergy have also faced allegations of serious sexual offences against children, including the rape of a teenage girl and possession of child pornography, intensifying criticism of the religious establishment.
In July 2025, a Thai woman was arrested after allegedly recording sexual encounters with Buddhist monks and using the material to extort millions of pounds.
Wilawan Emsawat, 35, known as Sika Golf, was accused of blackmailing some of Thailand’s most senior monks by threatening to release photographs and videos of them having sex with her.
Police alleged that she obtained nearly £9million after investigators found about 80,000 photographs and videos believed to have been used in the extortion scheme.
Earlier this year, four Buddhist monks were arrested after police allegedly found pornography, sex toys, a penis pump and a list of escorts during a raid on their temple.
The men were accused of breaching their vows by keeping the prohibited items at Phrom Sunthon Monastery in Chonburi province.
Officers searched the property on January 27 after receiving reports that monks possessed firearms and drugs.
Video from the operation showed police searching bedrooms, where they allegedly found £2,070 in cash, a pistol, a penis-enlargement pump, contact details for prostitutes and a DVD player containing a pornographic disc.
Three of the monks also allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine.
In November last year, another Buddhist monk in Thailand was arrested over an alleged collection of child pornography stored on his phone.
Chayut, 60, was reportedly suspected of downloading a large quantity of explicit material involving minors.
Police raided his home in Samut Prakan, outside Bangkok, after receiving information from the US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
The organisation alerted Thai authorities after identifying a Gmail account in the country that was allegedly storing illegal images and videos.
Officers seized two smartphones and alleged that they contained child pornography.
The police chief said: ‘The suspect admitted downloading child pornography to satisfy his sexual urges. He was handed over to investigators at Samut Prakan Police Station for further legal proceedings.’
Chayut faced charges of possessing child pornography for sexual benefit and possessing it for distribution or public display.
In 2018, a Thai court sentenced disgraced former monk Wiraphon Sukphon to 114 years in prison for offences including fraud, money laundering and computer crime.
He became known as the ‘jet set monk’ after appearing in a 2013 YouTube video aboard a private jet, wearing sunglasses and displaying cash and Louis Vuitton bags.
Wiraphon was defrocked and fled to the United States after allegations that he raped a minor and misled donors who gave money toward the construction of the world’s largest emerald Buddha image.
He was eventually convicted after being extradited to Thailand.
In April, officials said 22 Sri Lankan monks returning from Thailand were arrested at Sri Lanka’s main international airport after allegedly carrying a record 242 pounds of cannabis.
The group had reportedly spent four days in Bangkok and was carrying Kush, a potent cannabis strain, concealed in their luggage, according to a Sri Lankan official.
‘Each person carried about five kilograms of the drug, hidden behind false panels in their luggage,’ the spokesman said.
Most of the monks were young students from temples across Sri Lanka who had travelled on a trip sponsored by a business leader.
In March, provincial authorities raided a monk’s hut at a temple in northeastern Thailand and reportedly discovered drugs and several firearms.
Residents had alerted officials after claiming that a monk from another province was staying at the temple and gathering with other clerics to take drugs and drink alcohol.
