Wat Doi Nang Lae - Phrao - Phra Nikorn Thammawathee

DavidFL

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Wat Doi Nang Lae at Phrao was once a very active temple on account of the very charismatic monk - Phra Nikorn Thammawathee.
I met him a few times & there was no doubt about his charisma.

The temple

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There were big plans for the temple

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but unfortunately Phra Nikorn got tempted & was disrobed.

The story..
Phra Nikorn Thammawathee

The Nation (Thailand)
04-17-1998
THE Supreme Court yesterday sentenced former Buddhist monk Nikorn Yoskhamju to 22 months in jail for perjury and for lodging a false criminal complaint against the woman whose son he fathered while in the monkhood.

The court's decision upheld the earlier sentence handed down by the Court of Appeals in the case brought against Nikorn by Ornpaweena Butrkhunthong, the woman who accused him of having a sexual relationship with her when
he was the abbot of Sanpong Temple in Chiang Mai province in 1990.

Ornpaweena, who was pregnant at the time, lodged a complaint with the Religious Affairs Department in 1990, alleging Nikorn had lured her into having sex with him by falsely promising he would leave the monkhood to marry her. She said he had fathered the baby she was carrying.

Nikorn denied the allegations and claimed the woman and her family had tried to blackmail him by forcing him to stay at a house with the woman for several days. He was later thrown out of the monkhood after a DNA test proved he fathered Ornpaweena's son.

Before he was defrocked, Nikorn filed a criminal suit against Ornpaweena and her relatives, accusing them of libel, illegal detention and blackmail. The Criminal Court later dropped the case against the defendants citing lack of evidence.

Ornpaweena filed a counter suit against Nikorn with the Criminal Court in 1991, accusing him of lodging a false criminal complaint against her and perjury. Nikorn was found guilty of the charges by the Criminal Court and the Court of Appeals after which he lodged a final appeal with the Supreme Court.

The Nikorn-Ornpaweena sex scandal was a public sensation when the story broke and received intense coverage by the local media in 1990. The case also later led to similar wide publicity for sex scandals involving popular Buddhist monks, including the former Phra Yantra Ammarobhikku, who fled to the United States after being accused of having sexual relationships with several women while in the monkhood.

Although he was forced to leave the monkhood, Nikorn still continues his religious activities at a monastery in Chiang Mai and is respected by many followers.

Nikorn was yesterday transferred to the Bangkok Remand Prison after hearing the decision of the Supreme Court.

''No problem. It should be alright to live in jail for some time,'' he said to reporters.

Defrocked Nikorn may be jailed
The Nation (Thailand)
02-10-1998
EX-monk Nikorn Yoskhamju, who was defrocked eight years ago in a sex scandal and re-entered the monkhood last weekend, may face a document falsification charge following his alleged use of a fraudulent certificate, Criminal Court Chief Justice Pradit Ekmanee said Monday.

The judge said the freedom enjoyed by former Phra Nikorn Thammawathee after the Court of Appeals handed down a suspended 22-month prison sentence when it upheld a guilty verdict on false statement charges, may be revoked.

''We are just waiting for more evidence to prove that,'' he said.

Nikorn was defrocked in 1990 after it was found he had sex with follower Ornpaweena Butrkhunthong which resulted in a child -- an act which unconditionally bars him from being re-ordained.

The ruling upholds the Criminal Court verdict in the countersuit filed by Ornpaweena against Nikorn. Nikorn earlier filed a lawsuit accusing the woman of extorting Bt5 million from him. However, he eventually lost the case.

Pradit said he had seen the document and the forgery was well done.

Apart from the fraudulent document charge which carries a maximum jail term of five years, the former monk also faces two other criminal charges. The charges include lying about his qualifications for ordainment and for wearing a monk's robes without permission. Each charge carries a one-year jail term.

Deputy Education Minister Arkom Engchuan said Monday an inspection team from the Religious Affairs Department had left for Chiang Mai to look into the matter and would force Nikorn to stop wearing a monk's
robe if the charges proved true.

Asked if Nikhon's re-ordainment was successful because of a certificate issued by Phra Kitti Vuttho Bhikhu, Arkom declined to comment but said the Sangha Supreme Council, the monk regulatory body, would soon look into the matter.Phra Kitti Vuttho Bhikhu, the director of Jitthaphawan College in Chon Buri, was visited by many monks after the report concerning the certificate became known.
However, he turned down a request for an interview on the matter involving his certificate.
Some interesting history in view of the naughty 300 million baht monk from Si Sa ket.