The jet-set monk is jailed: Buddhist leader who wore aviators and flashed wads of cash on a private jet after ‘raping a 14-year-old girl’ is sentenced to 114 years for tricking followers into giving him £670,000
- Wiraphon Sukphon, 39, was head of a monastery in Thailand from 2009 to 2013
- Abused power to con followers into donating but bought cars and luxury goods
- He was given the monika ‘jet-set monk’ after filming himself flashing cash wads
- But the monk was accused of raping a girl, 14, and has now been jailed for fraud
A rogue monk who was pictured wearing aviator sunglasses on a private jet after tricking donors into giving him at least £670,000 has been jailed for 114 years.
Wiraphon Sukphon was catapulted to infamy after filming himself flaunting wads of cash and Louis Vuitton bags while head of a Thai monastery.
After the video surfaced in 2013, Wirapol – labelled the ‘jet-set monk’ – was accused of raping and impregnating a 14-year-old girl and was expelled from monkhood.
The jet-set monk: A rogue monk who was pictured wearing aviator sunglasses on a private jet after tricking donors into giving him £670,000 has been jailed for 114 years
Wiraphon Sukphon (pictured on a private jet) was catapulted to infamy after filming himself flaunting wads of cash and Louis Vuitton bags while head of a Thai monastery
He fled to the US but was extradited back to Thailand last year to answer fraud charges.
The 39-year-old was today sentenced for using his position as head of the Wat Pakhantitham forest monastery in Si Sa Ket between February 2009 and June 2013 to attract donations.
He told donors he would build ‘the world’s largest Buddha statue’ in jade and gold but used the money to buy 10 luxury cars and live extravagantly.
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The con-man, who claimed he was the reincarnation of a famous miracle-performing monk, was reported to have amassed £20million at the height of his wealth.
When he was arrested, he owned luxury cars and multiple bank accounts valued at about £500,000.
Today Wiraphon was convicted of money laundering, fraud and violating the Computer Crime Act for raising funds online.
He was sentenced to 114 years in jail but under Thai law will not serve more than 20 years.
The 39-year-old (pictured last year) was today sentenced for using his position as head of the Wat Pakhantitham forest monastery in Si Sa Ket between February 2009 and June 2013 to attract donations
lavish lifestyle was strongly at odds with Buddhist teachings and a monk’s vow to shun material goods.
Wiraphon was also told to return 28.6 million baht (£670,000) to 29 donors who filed complaints.
A ruling on the rape charge is expected in October, a public prosecutor said.
The monk is accused of having sex with an under-age girl around a decade ago and fathering a child with her. He faces the prospect of an additional 20 years behind bars if convicted.
His lavish lifestyle was strongly at odds with Buddhist teachings and a monk’s vow to shun material goods.
Thailand is mostly Buddhist and the religion is woven into everyday life, with most men spending at least some time in a monastery as novice monks.
But the junta that seized power in 2014 has taken a strong line against a Buddhist clergy mired in scandal.
The rogue monk’s lavish lifestyle was strongly at odds with Buddhist teachings and a monk’s vow to shun material goods. Pictured: Sukphol when he was extradited
Extortion, sex and drug cases tied to the clergy have shocked the public, and authorities last year floated the idea of introducing digitised ID cards to better track monks with criminal convictions.
In May the abbot of the tourist magnet ‘Golden Mount’ temple in Bangkok surrendered to police after £3million was found in bank accounts in his name.
Police are also investigating whether millions of dollars under control of the National Office of Buddhism was misused.
In a high-profile case in February 2017, troops laid siege to the temple of a mega-rich Dhammakaya sect on the outskirts of Bangkok for weeks in an effort to find and detain its controversial abbot, who remains at large despite accusations of massive fraud.
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