Monk Missing After Being Accused of Battering 17-Year-Old Girl With a Hammer

A 56-year-old Thai monk remains at large after allegedly attacking a 17-year-old girl with a hammer on Saturday, in what authorities suspect was an act of jealousy over the teen’s friendship with a male friend.

The injured teen, identified in local reports only as “Ae,” was rescued when her grandmother discovered her lying at a temple in Ubon Ratchathani province in northeastern Thailand. She was covered in blood, had a broken nose, and was slipping in and out of consciousness, her grandmother told local media. 

Ae is currently in the hospital recovering from her injuries. The suspect behind the attack has been identified as Uthit Lakthong, a monk at Baan Na Gae Temple. According to local reports, Ae had a close relationship with him, often referring to him as “grandfather,’ a term of respect and endearment in Thailand for men of senior age. 

Security camera footage showed Uthit fleeing the scene on Ae’s motorcycle, but authorities have not been able to track him down since. 

Police are still investigating the motive behind Uthit’s attack, but a letter found at the scene, believed to be written by the monk, has led police to suspect that he harbored romantic feelings for the teen. 

“I paid everything for you, the tuition fee, the dental fee, accessories, anything you want,” the letter read. “I can’t even have a chance to touch you. You ignored everything I did for you.”

Ae’s grandmother told local reporters that he could have been acting out of jealousy, as the attack came just a week after Ae posted a photo of her with a male friend on Facebook. 

Monks are historically revered in Thailand, where about 93 percent of the population are Buddhist. But in recent years, the reputation of the monkhood has been increasingly tainted with criminal scandals, including corruption, murder, sexual violence, and drug trafficking.

In November, a temple in central Thailand was left empty after all four of its monks tested positive for methamphetamine and were sent to rehab. Just last week, local media reported that a monk attacked and raped his 14-year-old daughter after visiting her under the pretense of giving her new year’s blessings.

Strange cult-like groups have also become more common. In 2017, police raided the Dhammakaya temple complex on the outskirts of Bangkok to arrest its abbot on charges of embezzlement, but were blocked by thousands of his supporters. More recently, in April 2021, an elderly Thai monk decapitated himself with the help of his devotees using a homemade device in an attempt to reincarnate as a higher being. 

Headlines depicting rampant criminality in the monkhood have served to slowly erode trust in the clergy among the Thai public.

“The ultimate goal of Buddhism is for the people to get enlightened, and not be attached to the material world,” Somboon Chungprampree, a Buddhist social activist and the executive secretary of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, told VICE World News last year. 

“[But] most of the society is learning that not all those who are wearing saffron can be a holy or respectable person.”

Follow Koh Ewe on Twitter and Instagram.