Source: News 18 [India]
“A woman in Thailand has been arrested for allegedly seducing multiple senior Buddhist monks into sexual relationships and then blackmailing them for large sums of money, in a scandal that has rocked the country’s monastic institutions and drawn public attention to temple finances. Wilawan Emsawat, believed to be in her mid-30s, was arrested at her home in Nonthaburi province, just north of Bangkok, on Tuesday, the Royal Thai Police Central Investigation Bureau said. She faces charges including extortion, money laundering, and receiving stolen goods. At least nine abbots and senior monks have been disrobed and cast out of the monkhood for their involvement, amid allegations that they violated the strict celibacy rule for Thai monks.” (07/16/25)