Police Bust Fake Monk Camp in Rural Fields: Men Posed as Ordained Monks, Begging by Day, Retreating at Night
Police arrested four men impersonating monks in Ayutthaya province after residents reported finding them living in makeshift shelters near a canal, posing as ordained monks to solicit alms during the day.
On May 9, 2026, Police Captain Chanan Prempluemjit, superintendent of Phra In Racha Police Station in Ayutthaya province, revealed that local residents had reported finding a group of men dressed as monks living together near a canal in Subdistrict Chiang Rak Noi, Bang Pa-In District. Investigation teams led by Senior Sergeant Sompon Kamkaetu and Sergeant Major Prasitchai Chobthram conducted surveillance and observed the suspects leaving their compound each morning to visit various locations in a manner resembling alms collection before returning in the evening. Officers moved in to conduct a thorough search once all occupants had returned to their base.
The search revealed multiple wooden structures set up in the middle of rice paddies with robes strung as temporary shelters, carefully hidden by surrounding trees. Access required wading through water and trekking along forest paths. Police found four men dressed as monks: Noo Tian (63 years old), Sompon (64), Pradist (49) from Chaiyaphum province, and Praiboon (58) from Nong Bua Lamphu province.
Authorities confiscated four sets of monk robes, four monks' bowls, three old religious documents from their former ordinations, and other ceremonial items. All four men were brought in for questioning at the police station and charged with "impersonating monks or using symbols indicating ordination without authorization, intending to deceive others into believing they are ordained monks." The suspects are being held pending formal legal proceedings.
