On the 23rd September, at Hang Dong’s Wat Baan Pong, there was a temple fair where many villagers came and donated money to the temple. The abbot had left over 60,000 baht in cash in his residence but returned later in the day to find it missing.
Police were alerted, and yesterday, 25th September, arrested Panupong, who went by the name Phra Panupong, claiming he was ordained.
Police suspect that he had been using the monk’s robe as a con for many years, going from temple fair to temple fair and using his robe to steal money.