Thai Buddhist Monk was Stomped to Death by a Wild Elephant

A Buddhist monk was stomped to death by a wild elephant on his way to collect alms in central Thailand on Tuesday morning. National park officials, found the dead body of the Buddhist monk with fractured legs and a broken skull.

Phra Sombun Bunwat, 64, was found lying face-down in grasses near a medication hall about 60 metres away from the national park. When police and park officials arrived, Charoen Chaichon, head of Thong Pha Phum national park in Kanchanaburi said he was alerted by the caretaker of Huay Chang Jok monastery around 7.50am.

The Buddhist monk suffered serious face injuries, a broken skull and fractured legs.

Documents showed Phra Sombun was attached to Wat Sumangkhlaram temple in Yasothon province. He was ordained nine years ago.

Residents warned about wild elephants

Buddhist monks and the monastery caretaker told police that Phra Sombun had come to practice Buddhism at the monastery last October. The monk went to collect alms every morning at the meditation hall, about 800 metres away from the monastery.

Shortly after leaving his living quarters on Tuesday, the monk encountered a wild elephant and was fatally attacked, they said. Police were investigating. The body of Buddhist monk was sent to Thong Pha Phum hospital for a postmortem examination.

A source said Thong Pha Phum national park had warned local residents living in nearby communities about the dangers.

Meanwhile, a woman tapping rubber trees was stomped to death by a wild elephant in Chon Buri, Thailand. She is the third person in the district killed by an elephant in the past month. The wild elephants have been an ongoing problem and district chief Kittipong Kittikul says he’s been trying to control the wild animals in the area.

54 year old Turian Suwanchao went out to the plantation to collect rubber at around 3am this morning with her husband, 56 year old Tian Thongyaem. Tian ran out of the woods at around 5:50am and told the plantation owner, Somjit Haphol, that an elephant attacked his wife. Somjit says he saw a large elephant leaving the plantation and crossing a nearby road.

Turian was dead when police and rescuers arrived. Kittipong says he asked local officials to hunt down the elephant to make sure no one else is attacked.

Source: Bangkok Post, The Thaiger