BANGKOK: A nine-year-old Buddhist novice has died after a beating by a Thai monk who allegedly battered him with a stick and slammed his head against a pillar, officials said Friday.
Monk Suphachai Suthiyano, 64, flew into a rage during a prayer session last weekend when the young disciple disrupted the ceremony with his “playful” behavior.
The monk allegedly assaulted Wattanapol Sisawad with a bamboo stick at the temple in Kanchanaburi, two hours west of Bangkok, striking him on his back several times before bashing his head into a pillar.
The child fell into a coma and passed away late Thursday, a hospital worker at Kanchanaburi provincial hospital said on Friday, requesting anonymity.
The incident comes as Thailand, a majority-Buddhist country, grapples with multiple other scandals among its clergy, including cases of extortion, sex and drug use.
The suspect, who was defrocked on Sunday following his arrest, was charged earlier this week with assault.
Police Captain Amnaj Chunbult said the charge will be revised to “assault resulting in death” once he receives official confirmation.
The boy’s mother Sukunya Tunhim told Thai media in a taped phone call she “will not forgive him (the monk).”
An official from the Institute of Forensic Medicine at the National Police Office in Bangkok confirmed an autopsy had already taken place, and that the boy’s relatives have reclaimed his body.
The Buddhist faith is bound with everyday life in Thailand, making it commonplace for most men, even children, to spend some time in a monastery as a novice.
Monks are virtually beyond reproach in the country’s villages, but the ruling junta has taken a strong line against clergy who break the law.
Earlier this month, Thailand’s infamous “jet-set monk” — so-called after footage emerged of him carrying a Louis Vuitton bag on a private jet — was sentenced to 114 years in prison for money-laundering and fraud.
In May the abbot of the popular “Golden Mount” temple in Bangkok surrendered to police after $4 million was found in bank accounts in his name.
The case came on the heels of an ongoing investigation into whether the National Office of Buddhism had misused millions of dollars under its control.
Authorities last year floated the idea of introducing digitized ID cards to better track monks with criminal convictions.
Nine-year-old boy dies after beating by Buddhist monk
Nine-year-old boy dies after beating by Buddhist monk
- The monk allegedly assaulted Wattanapol Sisawad with a bamboo stick at the temple in Kanchanaburi
- Monks are virtually beyond reproach in the country’s village
French volunteer bakes for Ukraine amid frosts and power outages
- The French volunteer, who calls himself a “baker without borders,” wants to help them through an especially cold winter
- Loic works alone and starts early, but he still manages to bake around 700 loaves a day
BORODYANKA, Ukraine: In a truck parked in the Kyiv region, Loic Nervi kneaded the dough vigorously before sliding dozens of tins into the oven — loaves that will later be handed out to Ukrainians.
By making bread, the French volunteer, who calls himself a “baker without borders,” wants to help them through an especially cold winter, marked by repeated power and heating cuts caused by Russian strikes.
Loic works alone and starts early, but he still manages to bake around 700 loaves a day, making locals flock in lines before his white truck.
“I knew there were problems with electricity and heating in Kyiv. It’s the first time I’ve come here and worked here in the Kyiv region and in Kyiv itself,” explained the volunteer, who already did a few missions in Ukraine.
Throughout these trips, he distributed tens of thousands of loaves since the start of the war in 2022, mostly to elderly people who have no support from their families or from the state, Nervi said.
“It’s important to keep supporting (Ukrainians),” the Frenchman told AFP, while admitting that “most French people no longer want to — they’re tired and don’t want to hear about this war anymore.”
“But no, the war is still ongoing,” said the strong-armed baker, sporting a short bristle of beard.
Working in his truck powered by two generators, he makes two main types of bread: a multigrain loaf with sunflower, sesame, poppy and flax seeds, designed to be filling and nutritious, and a soft white sandwich-style bread made with milk, sugar and eggs.
“I travel frequently — so I also leave my family behind, and it’s very hard for them. It’s a sacrifice I make for Ukraine, a personal and family sacrifice,” said Loic.
“But I think it’s worth it, because if everyone only thinks about their own comfort, we won’t move forward,” he added.
Moscow has in recent months conducted a series of massive drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, causing extensive power, water and heating outages.
The attacks, which especially targeted the capital Kyiv, come at a moment of particularly biting temperatures in Ukraine, which have dropped to as low as -20C throughout winter.
Ukraine, for its part, targeted power infrastructure in the Russian border regions and oil refineries across the country.
