A Buddhist monk has been defrocked after allegedly being caught on camera having sex with a female devotee.
The monk is accused of seducing the middle-aged woman by reading scriptures to her at a temple in Nakhon Si Thammarat, southern Thailand.
Local residents secretly installed CCTV cameras after reportedly becoming frustrated by claims that he regularly had sex with women.
The footage allegedly shows the monk approaching the woman from behind while she removes her clothes and leans over a chair, apparently unaware that a surveillance camera was positioned nearby.
The encounter reportedly ended quickly when the pair realised someone was approaching on October 20.
The woman is then seen casually pulling up her trousers, seemingly attempting to act as though nothing had happened.
However, the pair had been recorded, prompting furious locals to complain to Buddhist authorities, who expelled the monk from the religion.
One devotee, Kittisak, said: “The monks have a comfortable life funded by our donations.
The footage allegedly shows the monk behind the woman during the secret encounter
He has since been defrocked after angry residents secretly installed cameras to catch him allegedly having sex
“They are supported so they can lead virtuous lives and serve as an example to others.
“Instead, he was breaking one of the most important rules Buddhist monks are expected to follow.”
Villagers claimed the monk had repeatedly engaged in sexual encounters outdoors, but said his behaviour remained an open secret because he allegedly threatened people who discovered what he was doing.
Residents eventually managed to record the alleged conduct on camera.
Separate photographs also emerged that allegedly show the monk groping the woman’s breasts.
Locals said the monk had moved onto the grounds of Wat Wihan Ngam temple, supposedly to help restore the site.
District chief Kittipong Rongdech and local Buddhist officials tracked down the monk and defrocked him.
He reportedly confirmed his identity when confronted with the footage.
The woman is seen lying on the floor in this image. The case comes as Thailand’s Buddhist clergy faces renewed scrutiny over a series of sex scandals
The monk was taken to the ecclesiastical governing authority in Chian Yai district, where he was stripped of his robes and changed into civilian clothing.
A senior monk said the alleged conduct amounted to a “Parajika” offence, one of the most serious breaches of Buddhist monastic law, and resulted in the immediate loss of his monkhood.
He said that even penetration “by a finger’s breadth” would permanently bar a person from being ordained again.
The scandal has also led to calls for an investigation into donations made to the temple.
Devotees have called for an abbot with “exemplary conduct” to replace the monk.
Buddhism is Thailand’s dominant religion, with 90 per cent of the population identifying as Theravada Buddhists.
Monks vow to remain celibate as they seek to detach themselves from worldly desires, which are regarded as obstacles to spiritual enlightenment.
They are also forbidden from being alone with women.
Despite this, Thailand’s Buddhist clergy has faced numerous sex scandals over the years, damaging public confidence in the religious establishment.
In September, the clergy was hit by another scandal after a senior monk in a separate case was allegedly caught having sex with a woman on CCTV in Thailand.
Phra Wachirayan Wi, the 66-year-old abbot of Wat Phutthaisawan, a 14th-century temple in the ancient capital of Ayutthaya, was also accused of embezzling £2 million intended for his monastery.
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The case was the latest controversy to affect the Buddhist-majority nation. A sex and extortion scandal involving senior monks the previous year had already triggered public outrage and demands for closer scrutiny of temple finances.
Footage allegedly showing Phra Wachirayan having sex on a table in his residence was widely broadcast by mainstream Thai media, sending shockwaves across the country.
Buddhist monks in Thailand vow to remain celibate and renounce material possessions.
However, religious figures have repeatedly been at the centre of sex and drug scandals, ranging from police discoveries of pornography, sex toys and a penis pump to their alleged involvement in a £9 million sextortion scheme.
Clergymen have also been accused of sex crimes against children, including the rape of a teenage girl and possession of child pornography, fuelling growing condemnation of the religious establishment.
In July 2025, a Thai woman was arrested for allegedly recording herself having sex with Buddhist monks before extorting them for 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 allegedly showing them having sex with her.
Police said she received almost £9 million after officers discovered about 80,000 photographs and videos allegedly used in the blackmail operation.
Earlier that 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 in Thailand.
The religious leaders were accused of breaching their monastic vows by keeping the prohibited items at Phrom Sunthon Monastery in Chonburi province.
Police searched the property on January 27 after receiving reports that monks possessed firearms and drugs.
Dramatic footage from the raid shows officers searching bedrooms, where they allegedly found £2,070 in cash, a pistol, a penis enlargement pump, a contact list for prostitutes and a DVD player containing a pornographic disc.
Three monks also allegedly tested positive for methamphetamine.
A Buddhist monk was arrested in Thailand last November over an alleged collection of child pornography stored on his phone.
Chayut, 60, was said to have downloaded a substantial amount of explicit material involving minors.
Police raided his home in Samut Prakan, on the outskirts of Bangkok, after receiving a tip from the United States’ National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
The organisation alerted Thai authorities after identifying a Gmail user in the country who was allegedly storing illegal images and videos.
Officers seized two smartphones belonging to the monk and alleged that the devices contained child pornography.
The police chief said: “The suspect admitted that he downloaded child pornography to gratify his sexual needs. We handed him over to the inquiry officer at Samut Prakan Police Station for further legal action.”
Chayut was charged with possessing child pornography for the purpose of obtaining sexual benefit for himself or others, as well as possessing it for distribution or public display.
In 2018, a Thai court sentenced a disgraced former monk to 114 years in prison on charges including fraud, money laundering and computer crime.
Wiraphon Sukphon became known as the “jet-set monk” after appearing in a 2013 YouTube video aboard a private jet, wearing sunglasses and displaying bundles of cash and Louis Vuitton bags.
He was defrocked and fled to the US after allegations that he raped a minor and deceived donors who gave him money to build the world’s largest emerald Buddha image.
He was eventually convicted after being extradited to Thailand.
Twenty-two Sri Lankan monks returning from Thailand were arrested at Sri Lanka’s main international airport in April after officials allegedly found a record 242lb of potent cannabis in their luggage.
According to a Sri Lankan official, the group had been returning home after a four-day trip to the Thai capital and was carrying Kush, a powerful strain of cannabis.
“Each carried about five kilos of the narcotic concealed within false walls in their luggage,” the spokesman said.
The monks were mostly young students from temples across Sri Lanka and had travelled on a trip sponsored by a business leader.
In March, provincial officials raided a monk’s hut at a temple in northeastern Thailand and allegedly discovered drugs and several firearms.
Local residents had reported that a monk from another province had arrived at the temple and was allegedly meeting other clergymen to take drugs and drink alcohol.
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