Former abbot of Wat Saket (famous for Golden Mountain) & former Supreme Sangha Council member found hanging in living quarters in monastery.
RELIGION & CORRUPTION
Former Wat Saket abbot found hanging
25/01/2016 Online report.
The former abbot of a well-known royal monastery in Bangkok was found dead at the temple on Monday morning. Police found the body of Phra Prom Sutee (Chao Khun Sanoh), 58, on a bed at Wat Saket at 8am.
His brother and disciples said they had found him hanging in his living quarters and taken the body down and placed the body on a bed.
The senior monk had bruises on his neck and police estimated he might have been dead for six hours. The body was sent for an autopsy at the Police General Hospital's Institute of Forensic Medicine.
SUFFERED DEPRESSION AFTER RESIGNED FROM SANGHA SUPREME COUNCIL
Thai media reported the senior monk had suffered depression after he resigned as member of the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC).
His resignation came after an alleged lack of transparency in the budget spent on the funeral of Somdet Phra Buddhacharn, the late acting Supreme Patriarch and his predecessor.
Also on Monday, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) said it was no longer handling cases involving Phra Prom Suttee.
The DSI was earlier asked to probe several issues involving the monk including his alleged unusual wealth, by the People Network Organization for Security of Nation, Religion and King.
The DSI said they had looked into the facts involving the allegations and forwarded the findings to the Sangha Supreme Council (SSC) and the National Office of Buddhism to take further action.
REMOVED FROM SUPREME SANGHA COUNCIL AFTER AUDIT
Last January, the Supreme Sangha Council voted to remove him as its board member and suspended his position as the abbot after the Auditor General's Office had found irregularities in the use of the 67-million-baht budget for the funeral of his predecessor, Somdet Phra Buddhacharn. The council appointed Phra Phrom Siddhi acting abbot of Wat Saket, but he later resigned.
Wat Saket is famous for its Golden Mountain or Phu Khao Thong chedi, one of Bangkok's landmarks and tourist attractions.
Phra Prom Sutee was born Sanaoh Fungmook in Bang Pa-in located in Ayutthaya province. He was ordained at the age of 12. He received a bachelor's degree from Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, one of the two public Buddhist universities in Thailand, before completing a master's degree at India's University of Pune.