BANGKOK – A controversy involving a woman known as “Flowers of Merit” continues to spread, putting strong pressure on senior monks in the Chum Saeng and Bang Rakam areas. Reports reveal that a high-ranking monk left the monkhood and vanished from public view, while other senior monks linked to the case in Phichit remain silent.
Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, sent a team to examine finances at Wat Tri Thosathep in Bangkok. This followed the sudden resignation of Phra Ajarn Achaw, the former abbot, who left not just because of fraud allegations but due to a deeper scandal.
Evidence showed a close relationship with a woman, who used secretly recorded videos to blackmail him for money—a situation some describe as a classic case of seduction causing trouble among monks.
The same woman reportedly targeted monks at two other temples in Phichit and Phitsanulok. Locals now call her “Nong Dokmai Saiboon.” She comes from a rural area in Phichit, left school after Year 9, and grew up in a poor family.
Sexual relationships with senior monks
She later moved to Bangkok, often visited temples, and reportedly used her charm to build relationships with senior monks, leading to sexual encounters, video recordings, and monthly money demands. If the monks tried to distance themselves, she would claim to be pregnant by them.
There are claims that Dokmai was involved with five men, four of whom were monks. Her relationships began around 2007 with Phra Surapol, a former subdistrict chief monk, and together they had a daughter now aged 13 or 14.
The second was a lecturer at Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University and a former senior monk. The third was a high-ranking monk in Phichit. The fourth was a local politician in Nakhon Pathom. The fifth, Phra Ajarn Achaw, recently left his position as abbot at Wat Tri Thosathep.
The scandal started years ago when Phra Surapol, who was then a monk, had a relationship that resulted in a child. He left the monkhood but later returned to serve at Wat Phromkesa in Chum Saeng Songkhram, Bang Rakam, Phitsanulok.
When reporters visited this temple, they found out that Phra Surapol had already left, and his whereabouts were unknown.
Senior Monk Resigns
Reports confirm that Phra Kru Wiroj Dhammakorn, the abbot of Wat Krung Krak and a senior monk in Bang Rakam, conducted the resignation ceremony for Phra Surapol (Phra Kru Palat Surapol Itthitejo) at Wat Phromkesa on 5 July.
A monk at Wat Phromkesa explained that the temple is small and currently has no resident monks. The temple is building a new ordination hall, and Phra Surapol used his construction and design skills to help. Once the hall was complete, he planned to move to another province.
The monk did not know where Phra Surapol had gone.
In Phichit, the team led by Pol Maj Gen Jaroonkiat, along with police from the anti-corruption division, searched a house in Moo 7, Sak Lek district, believed to be the home of “Mae Seeka Kor,” or Dokmai Saiboon, looking for evidence linked to the case on 4 July.
Relatives told reporters they did not believe the reports about one woman causing so many monks to leave their positions. They felt the claims were unlikely.
